Celestial
by Li the Twilight Knight
Summary: An AU novelization of FFVII. When the Planet is in danger, it calls on its' Chosen, the One Winged Angels, for help. But what happens when one is corrupted? Suffering for the rest, that's what. So let the angels do battle, and see where it all will lead..
1. City of the Damned, Songs of Hope

**Chapter One: City of the Damned; Songs of Hope**

Midgar was a city of the damned. Always had been. Shinra made it that way, for everyone but themselves. Life on top of the plates was decent, where at least you could see the sky. But only people of considerable wealth could afford to live high up like that. Underneath, in the slums, was where most people lived, and it was awful. Disease and famine ran rampant, and Shinra did naught to stop or even slow the deaths. What did it matter to them if a few lowly "slum rats" died? People like that were worth nothing. They had other things worth so much more to control.

Shinra nearly had control over the whole world. Even the distant island country of Wutai had submitted to their unstoppable army. All of Gaia was under Shinra's thumb, and there was no escape. Wutai had been the last fight. They had stood up to Shinra for as long as they could, but to no avail. It was rumored that Wutai's young princess was wandering the lands, looking for weaknesses in Shinra, but no one truly believed she'd find any, if she was even real.

When Shinra burned Corel because of a rebellion there, there had only been three survivors. No one had seen the survivors in years, and it was believed they were in hiding. Cosmo Canyon held stirring whispers of rebellion, but no one dared even dream it was true. Two of Shinra's top mechanical scientists quit, no explanations. Rumors surfaced of a bar where it seemed rebellion was coming, led by an eighteen-year-old girl with more fire than anyone had ever seen. But even with the secrets, the hidden lies, the silent defiance... people in the slums were beginning to lose hope.

The day that _he_ came to the city, it was like every other day. People went on with their lives, trying just to survive in the horrid, sun-deprived world. In their dull, gray lives, he came like a flash of color, a fire, the color of blood and spirit and soul. Long ebony locks trailed over his shoulders as he walked calmly, and his crimson eyes and twin guns dared anyone to stop him. People watched, wondering if he was new to the city, and looked on longingly. They knew that if the bright stranger stayed, Midgar would soon dull his colors and fade him to gray like the rest of them. There was only one who had withstood Midgar's glumness, and she was barely a child. But he was full of life like they had not seen in forever, and it attracted them.

The man looked around at the crowd he had gathered, seeming surprised.

"Where is this place?" he asked.

"Midgar. Midgar. You are in Midgar." voices rose to call back to him.

He seemed more surprised than before. "Back in this hateful place, after so long...? And yet it is worse than before... What have they done...?" he mused to himself. Looking up at the crowd, he asked, "Does anyone here... sing?" The crowd shifted eagerly, parting to push a girl through. She was young, nineteen or so, with long brown hair plaited into a tight braid. She wore a plain pink dress, though the color alone was brighter than anything else in the city.

She looked at him with emerald eyes and said, "I can sing."

He didn't expect the child to know, but asked anyway. "Do you know a song called _Aminere_?" He was shocked when the girl nodded.

"Walk through the Rain." she said. "My mother taught it to me. She said that it has always been known by people here, passed down, but that the words have been forgotten."

"But you know them? I thought they were lost for good... You are Ifalna's daughter, ai?" He sighed in relief as she nodded again. She began to sing, slowly, verses of the song.

_In endless sorrow, dust and gloom,_  
_There shall come the sun and moon._  
_Born and raised to make things right,_  
_but in the end they both shall fight._

_The night shall watch, with greatest fear,_  
_and the star shall fall, with many tears,_  
_But in the end, through lack of greed,_  
_the sun shall see the Black City freed._

_Angels and demons, flying high,_  
_They speak of promises and lies,_  
_Walk through the rain, never falter,_  
_Till dreaming under sunlit skies..._

The man shushed her as she finished the chorus. "Yes, that's right. Hope is not lost then. Do not forget that song!" He turned, brushing easily through the crowd of people, and was gone as quickly as he had come. The girl smiled, ignoring the murmurs of the crowd. She picked up her fallen toy, and skipped back to the church that she called home. She looked at the toy, shaped like a stuffed cat, and grinned.

"Did I do good, Cait?"

Her toy, which was called Cait Sith, lifted it's robotic paw in a wave. "Certainly, Aeri. You remember the words perfectly." Most people would tease her for still having a stuffed animal, much less talking to it, but Cait was special. He talked back. It was like he was his own person. Even though she was nearly an adult, she still held on to Cait.

"That's not what I meant!" she laughed. "I always know the words. I meant telling him. He seemed trustworthy enough."

"Ah, don't worry, Aeri. Everything's going to be all right." Cait said.

"Aerith?" called another voice.

"Yes, Mother?" Aerith shushed Cait, setting him to the side. "What brings you for a visit?"

"I'm still not sure if you're all right, living in this dusty old church alone." Elmyra Gainsborough fussed. Aerith's adopted mother scanned the surroundings, raising a disapproving eyebrow at the fallen columns along the walls. Aerith came up, hugging her and repeating the I'll-be-fine-I'm-nineteen speech again. Her mother finally consented. "All right. I just worry about you, Aerith."

"I know, Mother." Aerith said. "I'll be fine. It's not like it's Wall Market, or anything."

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In the Shinra building, a dark-haired man laughed at his computer screen, watching the two converse.

"Wall Market? Yeah, I'll admit that would be worse." He turned, flipping the switch that would power down the robotic cat for the night. "She doesn't even realize that the watchers might be in her own home. I've watched her grow up..." He sighed. "She'll be the one, the one to lead us to the sun and moon. And then..." Glancing out the window, he let another sigh escape his lips as he saw nothing but Midgar's towers and skyscrapers and dull, polluted sky. "Either we're free, or Shinra kills them all." He left the control room, letting the door bang behind him, his spying duties done until morning.

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Li: Hi, guys. This came to me in study hall and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm hoping to go all the way through the game with this, so review and tell me what you think. Plushies of Reno to whoever can guess who is who. Except Aerith, because she's obvious. Oh, and the next chapter would have our SOLDIER boys in it. Except, a little different...

**EDIT: If you are reading this message, then it means that I have finally gotten off my lazy ass to correct this chapter to match the timeline I created. Chapters One through Last Order will be corrected in this manner. Everything will make more sense now, I promise!**

** Li**


	2. Kyoudai

**Chapter Two: Kyoudai**

"Spiiiiiiiiike!"

The loud, rambunctious yell pierced the thin walls of the ruined building like a bullet. Eighteen-year-old Cloud Strife looked up from his position by the stove, only to be met with the most violent leap-tackle-hug in all history. He tumbled from his stool, trying in vain to push the older man off of him. "Zack! You're crushing me! I can't breathe!"

"Donovan, get off before he suffocates." The bored voice of Sephiroth said from the next room. Twenty-year-old Zackary Donovan obeyed sullenly, only to grin broadly again when Cloud got up.

"Didn't you miss me?" he asked. Cloud sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Zack, you were gone for three hours. I don't think that warrants being crushed." he said emotionlessly. _Wait for it..._

"You're so mean, Spike!" _Victory!_

"And you're so predictable, Zack." Sephiroth said. The silver-haired man finally bothered to actually enter the "kitchen". "Did you actually manage to get dinner during your three-hour excursion?"

Zack threw open his pack triumphantly to reveal some fish. Cloud's eyes widened.

"Where the hell did you get fish? The only way to get fish that aren't contaminated is to buy them, and we don't have the gil to..." He paused at the look on Zack's face. "You did _not_ steal them! Oh, Zack, we don't need SOLDIER or the Turks after us too!"

"Like they'll come after us for a few lousy fish." Zack smirked. "Besides, we've worked too hard to get by living here to die of protein deficiency or whatever the hell vitamins you get from fish. I just know we haven't had a decent meal in forever!" He glanced in the pan on the stove, making a face. "See, look. You were fixing gruel. We have gruel every damn night."

"It's not gruel! It's soup." Cloud protested.

"Soup, gruel, same thing. Just 'cause you can make it taste good doesn't mean it's actually good for you. Shut up and cook the damn fish."

"He has a point, Strife. It's not like he can give them back." Sephiroth said. Cloud grumbled and took the fish, cursing Sephiroth for being right and Zack for stealing. _Again._ Just because they lived in the slums didn't mean that they had to stoop to being thieves. He pulled out the tiny amount of butter they'd gotten their hands on and set about frying the fish, listening to Zack and Sephiroth talking in the next room.

He had come here about two years ago, after a strange fire had destroyed his hometown of Nibelheim. It was probably lightning, because there had been a lightning storm that night, and it had been very dry. There had been rain too, but not enough to stop the raging fire. Only two people had gotten out. Cloud, and a girl called Tifa Lockhart. Only one building had survived, an ancient mansion belonging to Shinra.

Cloud and Tifa had come to Midgar separately. Tifa's father had been mayor of Nibelheim, and she had a bit of extra money to get by on. She opened a bar in Sector 7, called Seventh Heaven. Cloud had wandered, until he had run into Zack and Sephiroth, who had thankfully taken him in. Zack was on the verge of poisoning them all with his horrid cooking skills, so Sephiroth was just happy to find someone who could cook. He and Zack treated Cloud like a brother, though.

They lived in a wrecked building in Sector 4. He and Sephiroth had managed to patch most of the floor, ceiling, and walls, to make the space livable. Zack roamed the city, filching whatever materials he could get his hands on to help. Cloud did the cooking, merely because Sephiroth could not use a stove to save his life, and Zack would poison them all. All in all, aside from the poverty, the pollution, and the lack of sky, it was a pretty decent life. Cloud had family, siblings, something that he couldn't boast of in his hometown. There, his mother had been the only one to care about him. Now...

Cloud sighed, taking the fish off the stove. "Zack! Seph!" Both came back to the kitchen. Zack was moping, having had to listen to Sephiroth's _we-don't-steal-it's-wrong _lecture for the third time this month. The first time had been when he'd stolen an entire crate of apples from behind the market. The second was when he tried to steal a bottle of Wutainese rum from Tifa's bar. She had hit him over the head with a barstool. No one seemed to notice that even though she ran the bar, she wasn't of legal drinking age. Neither was Zack, but that didn't stop the black-haired man from getting totally drunk there sometimes.

Zack was still sulking.

"It's not like it _matters_. Shinra's got all the money anyway. What difference does it make if I take something here or there? I haven't stolen anything else!"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "Apples? Wutainese rum? Honestly, Zack." He took a bite of fish and continued, "This is good, Cloud. And Zack, I'd be fine with it if you were stealing from Shinra, but you're not. You're stealing from people like us, just trying to get by."

"That guy with the apples was a rich merchant from Junon!" Zack protested. "And Tifa has more money than she knows what to do with. Between the money her dad left her and the small fortune she makes running that bar... With all of her customers and AVA- average locals, she could live on top of the plate soon!" Zack expertly covered up his momentary slip of the tongue. He took a bite of fish as well, agreeing with Sephiroth that it was excellent.

"What about the widow Gainsborough?" Sephiroth asked. "She's fairly wealthy. Not rich enough to live on the plate, but for the standards of the slums..."

"Zacky has his eye on her adopted daughter. He wouldn't _dare_ steal from them." Cloud sing-songed, watching Zack from the corner of his eye. His elder friend was turning red.

"I don't even know her name!" Zack protested. "How could I...?"

Sephiroth sighed, poking at his dinner with the bent fork. "That's nice to know. I heard the girl was dumber than a fence post anyway..."

Zack turned crimson and yelled, "AERITH IS NOT DUMBER THAN A..." He stopped as Cloud laughed outright and Sephiroth managed a smile, both very rare occurrences. He fumed as he realized he'd been tricked. "You... you..."

"Us, us." Cloud said, still grinning. "Really, Zack. You thought we hadn't noticed? That's dense, even for you."

Zack grumbled incoherently for a few minutes, finishing his fish in silence. He had just _known_ that the two would tease him about his crush on Aerith, which was why he had neglected to tell them. It seemed they had found out anyway. He finished his dinner, dumping the plate in the cracked, chipped sink. Sephiroth seized his arm as he went by, back to the "living room".

"Zack, don't mope. It makes me feel like the apocalypse is coming, or something. You not being happy is definitely wrong." said in the typical stoic Sephiroth style. Zack grinned.

"Yes, beware, the apocalypse is coming!" Zack shouted melodramatically. "Next thing you know, Cloud will grow a demon wing and we'll find out that Midgar was really Hell all along!"

"Ha ha." Cloud laughed mockingly. "Like that would ever happen."

"I'm going to bed." Sephiroth said. "You two can continue your discussion without me." He got up, brushing silver hair from his face before walking away farther into the building. Zack grinned as Sephiroth moved out of earshot.

"He doesn't get dessert then!" Zack laughed. He reached into his pocket, pulling out three chocolate truffles. "Here, Spike. Have some chocolate."

"Zack! You didn't steal chocolate too?" Cloud yelped. Chocolate, in fact, sweets of any kind were rare in the slums. Tifa occasionally got her hands on some chocolate, and would sell it at the bar for a smaller amount than you could find it anywhere. To steal chocolate from someone who had managed to get some...

"You're too suspicious, Cloud." Zack pressed one of the truffles into his hand. "Aerith gave them to me when I saw her while I was out. She got them from a friend who lives above the plate."

Cloud took the truffle. "We should save these, and have them tomorrow, when Seph's actually awake to enjoy it with us." Zack nodded, putting them in a cup in the beaten up cabinet. "We should go to bed too. Try not to wake us up at the crack of dawn again." He and Zack split. The abandoned office building offered more rooms than many other places in the city, giving each of them their own sleeping space. Cloud rolled up in his blankets and fell asleep, letting his head droop onto the armrest of the old couch they had dragged in there. Sephiroth had an actual mattress, even though there was no bed to go under it. Zack had a gigantic pile of squashy cushions that they had found somewhere. It was comfy, and that was all that really mattered.

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To say that Sephiroth was mildly surprised to find chocolate the next morning would have been the understatement of the century.

"You did _not_ steal _chocolate._" he said in a low voice. Zack sighed exaggeratedly.

"I'm hurt that you two don't trust me. Aerith gave them to me. She got them from a friend who lives on top of the plate." His violet eyes gave off an air of innocence even Sephiroth could not ignore.

"All right, Zack. We believe you." he mumbled. Zack grinned triumphantly as they unwrapped the truffles and savored the rare taste of chocolate.

Cloud's eyes were closed, and he looked utterly at peace with the world. "Tell Aerith thanks many times over, Zack." His hand absently crushed and smoothed the truffle wrapper as he spoke, until Sephiroth reached over and took it from him. Zack patted him on the back.

"You two need to meet Aerith sometime." he said. "I'll have to take you. She lives in Sector 5, in an old church. But first, my friend and I are going to the Seventh Heaven tonight for a drink. Wanna come?"

"I'll go." Cloud said. He wanted to see Tifa, and see her success for himself.

"I'll pass. I have better things to do than watch you get drunk off your ass, Zack." Sephiroth said. Cloud hid a smirk, as Zack stuck his tongue out at his silver-haired friend. Sephiroth ignored the gesture, striding out the "front door", if it could be called a door. It was a piece of plywood over the doorway. Zack bounced off to listen to the radio, and Cloud settled onto his couch to read.

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At about seven that night, Zack was leading Cloud through the twisting streets of the Sector 7 slums. Seventh Heaven was hard to find unless you knew where it was. Zack's eyes glowed softly, a trait he had picked up in his hometown of Gongaga. Zack had told him the story many times. He had lived in the town of Gongaga, where one of Shinra's Mako reactors had exploded. Mako was a refined version of the planet's Lifestream. It was known to cause genetic oddities, if it didn't kill you. Zack had been exposed to Mako, and it made his eyes glow. The comforting violet light looked back at Cloud as they stopped in front of a simple storefront.

"Zack... are we sure this is the right place?" Cloud asked. Zack grinned.

"Appearances can be deceiving, my dear Spike." he laughed. "Look, there's my friend!" He waved at a man in the crowd across the street. "OY!"

A man with flaming red hair broke away, and came over laughing. "Zack, dude! Who's your buddy there, yo?"

"This is Cloud. He's kinda like my roommate/adopted brother. Remember me talking about him?" Zack said.

"Oh, yeah! I remember him. Yo, Cloud." Fire-hair laughed. Cloud was pale, and gaped at the man. He dragged Zack back momentarily.

"Zack... You realize that that's _Reno of the Turks_, right?"

"So?"

Cloud smacked his forehead and followed Zack and Reno into the bar. It was going to be a looooong night.

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Li: This chapter is dedicated to my friend Rainbow Aeris, who was the first to review and is madly in love with Reno. I tried to keep the areas of Midgar close to the way they are originally, but hey, this _is_ AU. I'd also like to thank my imaginary Zack plushie for the inspiration for this chapter. All I had to do was look at it and think "idiot". But I love Zack anyway. His comment about Cloud growing demon wings was a tribute to Kingdom Hearts, and Zack mentioning Midgar being Hell is from another story titled "This Army Life". It is hilarious! Go read it, after you leave a review of course!

**EDIT: This chapter is now cohesive with the timeline! w00t!**


	3. AVALANCHE

**Chapter Three: AVALANCHE**

Cloud staggered back into the house, one arm around Zack's waist to hold the older man up. He and Reno had, as Sephiroth so elegantly put it earlier, gotten drunk off their asses. Cloud laughed. It had been a strange night. Reno wasn't as bad as he seemed.

_Cloud sat at the bar, watching Zack and Reno. He had a nice buzz, but wasn't completely drunk. Reno was telling exaggerated stories of his time as a Turk, and despite his distrust, Cloud found himself listening intently._

_Tifa leaned over the bar beside Cloud, also watching the two. "Zack and Reno are funny drunk, ne?"_

"_Yeah." Cloud said, his eyes never leaving his friend. "Hey, Tifa?"_

"_Hmmm?"_

"_Can I have another drink? I think I'll need it to put up with Zack the rest of the night."_

_She laughed, disappearing for a moment and returning with a glass of Wutainese rum. "For someone not of legal drinking age, you and Zack sure do drink a lot." Cloud ignored that, taking a sip. "Hey, Cloud? How is it, living with Zack and Sephiroth?"_

"_They're cool. They're like brothers. Although Zack can be... a pain sometimes." Cloud said. Tifa looked ready to say something else, but a girl with long, red-brown hair poked her head out from the back room._

"_Tif? When are we going to start the AVALA-" She saw Reno and gave a shrill shriek, practically sprinting back into the back rooms. Cloud heard her thundering up the stairs and glanced at Tifa._

"_Who was that?"_

"_My... friend, Jessie. She's staying with me. She's very shy." Tifa looked over at Zack and Reno, only to find them both passed out. "Gah, those two. Reno's partner, Rude, will come get him eventually. Zack's usually gone before then." She handed Cloud a glass of ice water. "Go dump this on him and get his lazy ass outta my bar. And tell him the drinks are on the house."_

So here Cloud was, with a very drunk Zack. He dropped the raven-haired man on the couch in their living room, and proceeded to throw himself into the nearest chair. Sephiroth stuck his head in and asked, "Drunk?"

"Not me. Him." At Cloud's words, Sephiroth looked the two over. Cloud looked exhausted, but relatively sober. Zack looked completely smashed, and was currently clinging to the sofa cushion singing gibberish. Sephiroth nodded to show that he agreed with Cloud, and sat down on another chair.

"I take it he drank straight rum or something?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud shrugged, and both of them continued to watch their friend act like an idiot. Zack was happily babbling away. His nonsensical words turned into a repeated singing of a single word.

"AVA-AVA-AVALANCHE, AVALANCHE, AVALANCHE!"

"What the hell?" Sephiroth asked. "Avalanche? There aren't any mountains anywhere near Midgar. Zack's lost it."

The singing changed again. Zack began singing in a high voice, "AVALANCHE in Heaven, AVALANCHE in Heaven..." Cloud abruptly remembered the girl in the bar. Jessie, Tifa had called her. She had mentioned a meeting and something that sounded suspiciously like the beginning of AVALANCHE. Cloud got up and smacked Zack full across the face. "Zack! What is AVALANCHE?"

The smack seemed to have helped Zack out of his drunken haze. He blinked as the Mako in his system kicked in to cure the drunkeness. "What? Spike, I..."

"I want to know too, Zack." Zack cringed as Sephiroth fixed him with a piercing, jade-green stare. With both Cloud and Sephiroth's eyes on him, there was no way to escape.

"All right, guys. If Tifa asks, it wasn't me who told you." Zack began. "AVALANCHE is a rebel group that Tifa is leading. You know the guy who survived Corel, Barrett Wallace? He's part of it. There's a girl called Jessie; she's good with explosives. There's a guy called Biggs, and a teen named Wedge who's better than most with a gun. They're all in it together to take down Shinra. They're still recruiting, but it's definitely a worthy cause."

Cloud's eyes widened. "Zack! Reno's a goddamned _Turk_! Do you not think he might..."

"Oh, Reno knows they're there." Zack said with a casual grin. Ignoring the stunned expressions of his two friends, he continued, "Reno thinks it's fun, since Shinra knows there's a rebellion somewhere. He's not going to tell, because he thinks it's more fun to watch Shinra struggle to find them."

"Zack, that's a big risk to take." Sephiroth said. Zack shrugged idly, flopping back onto the couch. Sephiroth sighed. "I hate Shinra."

"Doesn't everyone down here?" Cloud inquired.

"I hate them personally. I grew up there." Sephiroth said. Zack sat up, suddenly at attention. Sephiroth never talked about his past. "I was raised in Shinra. The head of science, Professor Hojo... he would run experiments on me, inject me with Mako... It was torture, pure and simple. I never knew my father... I heard that Hojo had done something horrible to him, but I knew my mother. Her name was Lucrecia Crescent. All of my reports in the Shinra building called me Sephiroth Crescent. I don't know my father's last name, so... But my mother was killed." His voice grew sad, and Zack and Cloud hung on to his every word. "We were living in a house on top of the Sector 8 plate. One night it caught fire. I was at the lab when I heard the news. I waited and waited for Mother to come with my little brothers. But they never got out. They were all killed in the fire. I think Hojo had it done on purpose, since my mother tried to protect me from him."

"Your whole family..." Zack whispered. "Oh, gods, Seph. I'm so sorry."

Sephiroth smiled. "Why? You didn't do anything. Those Shinra bastards did. I knew a lot of the Shinra executives growing up. I think one was nice to me. He was Reeve Tuesti, head of urban development. I remember arguing with him, because he designed Midgar. He doesn't like it here either. He's the one who left the holding room unlocked so that I could escape. I also, sadly, knew Rufus. There's a reason his nickname is "Prince Rufus". He's in command of Shinra, really. The king is dying, or stupid, and the prince is ruling in his absence. President Shinra is an incompetent moron."

"We all knew that!" Zack laughed. "C'mon. I don't know about you two, but I'm tired. And anyway, I'm taking you two to meet Aerith tomorrow. Let's get some sleep."

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"How much did you drink?" Rude asked, hauling his partner through the door of their small apartment on the Sector 8 plate. Reno stumbled to their couch and fell on it. Well, he would have, but he missed, hitting the plush carpet instead. Rude sighed and dragged his friend upright, setting him on the couch. "Seriously."

"Zack n' I had a contest, who could drink more of Costa del Sol's special tequila without passin' out, yo." Reno slurred. Rude sighed at his partner's stupidity.

"And who won?"

"Y'know, I don't really remember." Reno mumbled. Rude sighed again. Reno smiled hazily. He didn't have a Mako boost to cure his drunkeness. "It was fun though. That girl from AVALANCHE popped up. Screamed when she saw me... wonner why..."

"AVALANCHE?" Rude couldn't believe his ears. "The rebel group?"

"Yeeaaaahhhhhhh. They're holed up in the Seventh Heaven..." Reno said, swaying slightly, not really knowing what he was saying. "Zacky asked me not to telllllll..." Reno passed out onto the sofa, the tequila finally catching up to him. Rude stared. His partner had known the whereabouts of AVALANCHE all along? Rude slapped his head. God was Reno a moron. Rude left his drunk friend in the apartment, having something very important to tell Tseng and Rufus.

HIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIIIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIH

Li: Excuse the "hi"s. The triangly thinger doesn't work on this computer. Here's another chapter for you guys, just because. I'm facing much strife (hehe) because of limited computer access, so it might be a while between chapters. And I'm debating: to kill Zack, to not kill Zack... I love Zack to death, but... And the tune he was singing 'AVALANCHE' to was One-Winged Angel.

Thanks to the people who reviewed, and if anyone noticed, I've put the events out of order. Anyone who guesses whats going to happen next gets a Rufus plushie. (Rufus deserves love too! Even if he is a bastard. But you know you want allllll the plushies!) Till next chapter!

Li

**EDIT: I edited where Sephiroth was when his family died. He wasn't in the house when it burned; he was at the lab instead.**


	4. Platefall

**Chapter Four: Platefall**

The next morning, Reeve was up bright and early. It wasn't by choice, but nonetheless, he tried to be remotely cheerful. He went into his control room, shutting the door and letting the dampers shut out all outside sound. Pulling the curtains off of the window, he looked out at the city he designed. Pfffft. It was a gigantic rotting pizza, with misery and despair all around. He had thought Midgar would be a dream city, a shining triumph on the planet's surface. When he pictured something like that, the first image that came to mind was the Gold Saucer.

Reeve laughed. Midgar and the Gold Saucer were like polar opposites in everything. Still chuckling, he sat down at his desk and flipped the switch to power up Cait Sith. As the image through Cait's eyes popped up on screen, he picked up the microphone. "Good morning, Aeri."

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Zack woke up Sephiroth and Cloud extra early, bouncing around in anticipation. When Cloud made a bleary grab for bread and the ancient toaster they owned, Zack grabbed him around the waist and dragged him away.

"Aerith promised she'd fix us a _real_ breakfast!" he cheered. "Up and attum, Seph!" he shouted at the silver haired man. Zack pretty much dragged his two friends out the door, into the gray morning. Even the glaring noonday sun mostly was blocked by the plate. The scenery never changed, except to get dark at night. Zack led them through the tunnel into Sector 5. Sector 5 had most of the nice architecture, including the church Aerith lived in. Sector 8 was where the people who weren't quite wealthy enough to live on the plate were, including Elmyra Gainsborough. Sector 6 was Wall Market, which most self-respecting people avoided like the plague. Sector 7's only claim to fame was the Seventh Heaven, famous for it's excellent service and feisty bartender. The last time someone had gone in there looking to rob it, they'd been sent to the hospital with three broken ribs and a concussion.

"Seph, you're falling behind!" Zack cried.

"I don't want it to look like I'm actually with you two exploded porcupines." Sephiroth said dryly. Zack raised an eyebrow. Cloud had the most awful bed hair imaginable, with his blond spikes going in every direction, and Zack's hair looked like... well... Zack's unruly black spikes looked like they always did. His normal hair and bed hair were one and the same. Sephiroth was the only one who's hair looked relatively nice.

"I'm not... porcupine..." Cloud was, at best, still half asleep. Sephiroth took pity on him and let Cloud lean against him. "Zack... y'ra meanie..." His eyes started to close, and Sephiroth shook him awake again.

"We're almost there, Cloud." Sephiroth said, shooting a jade glare of death at Zack. Zack nodded, leading them around the corner and face-to-face with an old church. He went up and knocked on the thick wooden door. It opened almost immediately. Cloud woke up instantly at the smell of food coming from inside. A girl with long brown hair plaited into a braid, wearing a simple pink dress, smiled warmly at them.

"Hi, Zack." she said softly.

"Aerith!" Zack seized the girl in a tight hug. When he set her down again, he motioned to Cloud and Sephiroth. "My friends, roommates, whatever you want to call them."

"All right. Hello. You must be Cloud and Sephiroth." Aerith shook hands with them. "Would you like to come in?"

As they followed Aerith into the church, Cloud looked around interestedly. In the main room, most of the pews were still standing, although some of the old wooden benches were rotting away. Near where the altar would have stood, a large part of the wooden floor had been ripped up, leaving bare earth. Flowers grew in this small area; Wutainese lilies and honeysuckle. Aerith obviously took good care of the flowers for them to grow under the plate. Columns had fallen here and there, creating interesting ramps and ledges. Cloud figured you could get to the roof if you tried. Aerith led them to the rooms in the back. Cloud caught a glimpse of a bed and dresser through one door, before they entered the kitchen.

"I made blueberry pancakes." Aerith said. She set out the food on the kitchen table, commanding the boys to sit down.

"Thank you so much." Cloud said, taking a bite.

"Yes. Zack tells me all the time that's you're the best cook out of the three of you, Cloud. Did anyone teach you?" Aerith asked, pouring milk and sitting down beside Zack.

Cloud shook his head. Zack grinned and chimed in, "He can make gruel taste good!"

"Zack, for the last time, it's SOUP!"

"Both of you please just shut the hell up." Sephiroth grumbled. Aerith laughed.

"You certainly act like real brothers." Aerith noted, eating her own pancakes. Zack stuck his tongue out at Sephiroth, who glared pointedly at him. Cloud ignored them both, finishing his pancakes and milk.

When breakfast was done, they were sitting and chatting in the main room. Aerith asked about life in Sector 4, and how it was different than Sector 5.

"Well," Cloud began. "Most of the buildings in Sector 4 are just ruins. Like the one we live in. We had to patch nearly everything to make it livable. These buildings are more whole." Aerith nodded. Next she asked how they felt about the plate. "The plate sucks."

"It blocks all nature." Sephiroth said. "This is the only place in the city where I've seen anything alive. Although, there's a way up to the plate from Sector 4."

Zack gaped. "There is?"

"Yes. I found it a long time ago. It's for emergencies." Sephiroth mumbled. Cloud knew he meant that he'd used it to get down when he'd run away from Shinra. He didn't press the subject, and Aerith didn't seem inclined to either.

"It sounds like Sector 4 is not so bad, compared to some of the other sectors." Aerith said. All of them immediately cringed, thinking of Wall Market. "I wonder if..." She was interrupted by a polite knock on the door. "Come in!" she called.

The door at the front of the church opened, and a tall man came in and walked to the back. He was wearing a nice suit and tie, and his semi-long black hair was pulled back into a short ponytail. He looked like he was from Wutai, or Wutainese decent. Aerith bounced up to give him a hug immediately.

"I apologize, Aerith. I did not realize you had company." he said politely. Aerith shook her head.

"It's okay, Tseng! This is my boyfriend, Zack, and his roommates." All three of the boys reeled back in sheer surprise. Tseng? The _leader of the Turks?_ Did Aerith know who she was talking to?

Zack recovered first, saying, "So this is your friend from above the plate? Nice to meet you. I'm Zackary Donovan." He shook Tseng's hand.

Cloud stood. "Cloud Strife, sir."

Sephiroth looked infinitely uncomfortable as he shook Tseng's hand. "I'm Sephiroth... Crescent. Sephiroth Crescent." He hesitated a moment before the last name. Realizing that if anyone from Shinra was going to recognize him, they'd know him by his first name anyway, he shook Tseng's hand unafraid.

"A pleasure to meet you." Tseng said politely. "Aerith, would you and your friends like to accompany me up to the plate?"

"Really, Tseng? That would be wonderful." Aerith said. She turned to Zack and was about to ask him if he would come, when the bedroom door swung open. The robotic stuffed cat, Cait Sith, tumbled out, looking as flustered as a stuffed animal could. Aerith hurried over and scooped him up. "Cait, what's the matter?"

Zack, Cloud, and Sephiroth blinked as she talked to the toy. They were even more surprised when it responded. "Aeri, I've got bad news! The Turks found AVALANCHE, and are going to drop the Sector 7 plate!"

"What?" Aerith exclaimed. She missed the death glare that Tseng shot at the plushie. "But... so many people will die!"

"I don't know, Aeri!" Cait wailed, distressed. "It's too late!"

Cloud suddenly straightened, going pale. "TIFA!" He dashed from the church, determined to reach his friend. Sephiroth was bodily shoved out of the way of the door, and the spiky blonde head of hair was gone.

"SPIKE! YOU CAN'T GET THERE IN TIME! COME BACK!" Zack hollered after him, but Cloud ignored him, running on. "Come on, Seph, we have to catch him!" Zack sprinted after his friend, Sephiroth close behind. Tseng glared at the plushie, as Aerith followed the two.

"I'll deal with you later." he murmured, before following the group.

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Cloud raced through the tunnel that led to Sector 7. He had to get to Seventh Heaven, before...

He grabbed a boy, running past, and said breathlessly, "Tell everyone you can, to get to another Sector, now. The Turks are going to blow the plate." The boy nodded, frightened, and ran off. Cloud thought to himself with a dry laugh that the upper plate was probably already evacuated. He turned down a side street, and saw AVALANCHE running towards him.

"Platefall!" Jessie shouted. "I recognize an explosive like that anywhere!"

"We gotta go!" The man he assumed was Barrett Wallace said. He carried a young girl tightly to him, his daughter, Marlene. Cloud nodded, catching Tifa's hand and running back in the direction of the tunnel. They were close, a few blocks away, when a horrendous explosion ripped through the air. As one, they turned to look, seeing the fireball blossoming around the support pillar. The plate shuddered, the one section of it starting to slip from its' space.

"RUN!" Wedge shouted, pushing them all forward. Cloud turned and promptly crashed into someone.

"Zack, Sephiroth!" Tifa cried. Zack motioned for them to run. Most people were heading the opposite way, towards Sector 8, because even in a time of crisis they wanted to avoid Wall Market. As they ran for their lives towards the tunnel to Sector 6, a huge cracking sound was heard. Biggs pointed up, to where a bit of the steel plate had fallen. It was like slow motion. The steel fell, hit the top of a building, and knocked a large chunk of stone off of it. The stone fell, well, like a stone. It hit the ground just behind the group, trapping the leg of Wedge, who had tripped over some debris. Jessie and Biggs immediately broke off to help him.

"Go on!" Jessie yelled. "We'll get it off and follow!" She and Biggs began to slowly shift the rock off of Wedge's mangled leg. They stared a moment, but Sephiroth and Barrett forced them to go on. They were ten feet from the tunnel when the plate dropped.

Jessie's last view was of Wedge's smiling face.

"Thanks, Jess." he said. "I was starting to worry that we wouldn't make it." Jessie smiled back at him, tilting her head up to look at the plate. She looked over, seeing the others nearly to the tunnel, and then took Wedge's hand to pull him up. That was the last move she made. At that moment, the plate fell.

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Li: So sad! But alas, I had to... On another note, no one got a Rufus plushie! Sorry guys. At least I updated for you. As usual, it might be a long while to the next chapter. But I've gotten up through chapter 14 in note form on paper. Yay for me. And as Last Order looms ever nearer, one question remains... What will I do with Zack? Hehe...

**EDIT: Not much to change here, just some grammar. Still, one closer to being done!**


	5. Dirge for the Fallen

Chapter Five: Dirge for the Fallen

Reeve was in his control room, watching the plume of smoke rise from what was now the ruins of Sector 7. He had not approved of such drastic action just to get rid of a rumored rebellion. All of the innocent people that had been killed would not help to improve the public's view of the Shinra company. He glanced at the screen, where Cait Sith was on standby, watching for any sign of the group's return. He hoped with all of his being that they hadn't gone running into Sector 7. If they had... Reeve didn't want to think about it. They weren't dead. They couldn't be.

The door to his control room swung open, startling him. No one ever came in here. The brass plate on the door reading "Reeve Tuesti" glinted in the light from the window. He had moved it from the door of his office, since he spent much more time in here. He squinted against the light as it was harshly reflected into his eyes, trying to see who his unwelcome visitor was.

"Tseng. Good to see you." he said, attempting to be polite. The Wutainese Turk looked at him calmly.

"Reeve... Why did you tell them the plate was being brought down?" Tseng asked. "They didn't need to know that." He himself was friends with Aerith. He had known her for a long time, ever since Professor Hojo had asked him to capture her. She was the last living Cetra, and Hojo wanted to study her. Tseng became friends with the young woman, and had been keeping her away from Hojo. If she died...

"They deserved to know. The blonde-haired boy had friends in Sector 7. He had a right to try and save them." Reeve said. Tseng sighed.

"You may have killed them all." he said quietly, turning to leave. Reeve paled. Was Tseng implying that they hadn't survived platefall?

"Oh, Shiva..." he breathed. He looked back at the screen showing Cait Sith's view. "Damn it..." He was attached to Aerith too. He had been assigned to spy on her since she was little, through Cait. He had grown up with her, and the thought of her dead was too much to bear. Reeve grabbed his coffee, trying to calm his nerves. He'd just have to wait and see.

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"Cloud? Cloud? Oh, Shiva, Spike... Don't be dead..."

Cloud was woken by a voice, calling his name. He groaned in pain, feeling like his whole body was one giant ache. He was aware of lying next to Zack, his friend's arms securely around him. He blinked, blearily opening filmy blue eyes. "Zack...?"

"Thank the gods!" Zack said. He pulled Cloud into a sitting position, letting the younger boy lean against him. Cloud looked around. Tifa was sitting against the wall, wrapping a bandage around her ankle. Barrett was trying to calm the hysterical four-year-old that was his daughter Marlene. A completely unharmed Aerith was kneeling by Sephiroth, trying to see if he was all right. Zack reached into his pocket, his other arm still around Cloud, and pulled out a small, glowing orb.

"Zack... Is that... Cure materia?" Materia was forbidden in the slums, for many reasons. One being Shinra's fear that the people would use it against them.

"Yes. I took it from a Shinra guard." Zack ignored the disapproving glance from Sephiroth and held it up. "We need it more than he does. Let me see your back, Spike." Cloud abruptly realized that his back hurt. He pulled up his shirt, finding a huge gash on his back. "You got hit with debris." Zack explained. That was when Cloud noticed that they had made it to the tunnel. Zack cast the Cure spell, and Cloud felt healing warmth covering his back. Zack gently probed the injury, making sure it was fully healed, before getting up and going over to tend Tifa's ankle. Cloud leaned against the wall, eyes roving over the group.

"We aren't all here." he murmured. Tifa glanced up.

"Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie didn't make it." she said sadly. "Ow!" Zack had prodded her ankle a bit to hard. "They got caught under the plate. There's no way..."

Cloud closed his eyes, wishing that they could have done more. If they had, maybe the others would still be alive now. Sephiroth sat up, Aerith apparently satisfied with the state of his health, and glared at Zack. "You know Shinra will come after you for the materia. Food, sure. But materia? That's a serious crime."

"No one will ever know it was me. The only ones who know are you guys. And you aren't going to tell." Zack laughed, slipping it back into his pocket and coming over to sit beside Cloud. He looped an arm over the smaller boy's shoulders, hugging him close. "It wasn't your fault, Spike. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Just someone else I couldn't save... like my whole hometown..." Cloud mumbled. Zack rested his chin on top of Cloud's head, trying to comfort him.

"Cloud... Shhhh..." Zack murmured. "You need to stop beating yourself up over that, _Otouto._ You're family, now. Seph's and mine." Cloud buried his face in Zack's shoulder, and Zack let him. Knowing that Cloud still had emotional scars from the burning of his hometown, he just sat and let Cloud absorb whatever comfort he needed. Aerith finally offered hesitantly, "You can come back to my church." Tifa shook her head.

"Nah..." she said. "Barrett and I will be fine. They didn't know who the members of AVALANCHE were specifically. We will fight on!"

"Damn straight." Barrett added, not minding to curse since Marlene had fallen asleep. "We'll show those Shinra bastards who rules here! The people, not their damn suits and Turks and fancy damn SOLDIERs."

"All right!" Zack said, trying to be cheerful in light of the circumstances. Tifa nodded, heading out into Sector 6 with Barrett close behind, carrying Marlene. Zack stood, helping Cloud to his feet, and nodded to Aerith, telling her that they would accept her offer. Aerith led the way back to the church, and a joyous stuffed animal was there to greet them.

"You're alive, Aeri!" it yelped. Aerith scooped up Cait, hugging it.

"Yep." She set the plushie down, only to be hugged from behind by Zack.

"You are an angel." Zack laughed. Aerith turned red and tried to squirm away. Zack kissed her on the cheek and released her, glancing at his friends. "We survived, and that's what's important."

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Reno couldn't believe his ears.

"What the hell? You dropped the Sector 7 plate?" Reno howled at Rude. "You crushed the Seventh Heaven! How am I supposed to get plastered now, yo?"

"It's your own fault." Rude said, his expression betraying no emotion. Reno gaped like a fish. Rude was almost amused, as the color suddenly drained from his face.

"Damn... I didn't... when I was drunk... Did I?" When Rude nodded, Reno cursed colorfully. "Damn it! But why the fuck did you have to tell Tseng and Rufus? AVALANCHE is minor. Why are you so scared of them?"

"They have the people behind them. If they began to lead, people would follow, whether they realize it or not. How could you know for so long and not tell? That could be considered traitorous." Reno was too worked up to answer the question.

"Rude, all those innocent people! What the fuck were you thinking? What the fuck was RUFUS thinking?" Reno yelled.

"You're a Turk, act like it." was all Rude said as he walked out the door. Reno cursed for long moments into the empty apartment, before going to get his dinner.

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The following day, they held a memorial for the lost AVALANCHE members in Aerith's church. Zack had carved small pictures into stones, setting them up beside the flower garden. An image of a pistol for Wedge, a grenade for Jessie, and a Fire materia for Biggs.

"Jessie... Biggs... Wedge..." Tifa sniffed unhappily, clinging to Cloud's arm. She had met them just after arriving in Midgar. Just like Cloud had found family with Sephiroth and Zack, Tifa had found family with Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge. Cloud patted her on the back comfortingly. Aerith walked up to the front of the room, touched the carved stones gently, and began to speak.

"We are here to honor three brave souls who gave their lives in the fight against Shinra. Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge, even though I personally knew them for only a short time, were some of the bravest people I know. When Wedge was trapped, Jessie and Biggs could have kept going, and they would be here now. But they showed a loyalty that only the kindest people possess, and went back to aid him. I'm sure that if it had been any of us, they would have stayed to help. Let us pray to Gaia, that they are at peace in the Lifestream."

Tifa clung to Cloud's arm, crying quietly. Zack hugged Aerith. Barrett even let some tears run down his face. Cloud snuck a glance at Sephiroth, shocked to see tears glimmering in his jade eyes. He wasn't _crying_, specifically, but he had definitely been moved to some form of emotion. Aerith moved to lay some picked flowers against the makeshift tombstones, and Tifa burst into sobs.

It was much later, when Cloud, Sephiroth, and Zack had gone back to their home in Sector 4. Cloud had immediately thrown himself in one of their old, squashy armchairs. Sephiroth sat down more decorously, and Zack turned on the radio.

"The investigation into what caused the tragic fall of the Sector 7 plate has been halted under orders from the Shinra Company. No comment was offered as to why, but it is estimated that the death toll will reach..." Zack turned the radio off again.

"The death toll doesn't matter." Sephiroth said quietly. "We lost three important people today. Hearing of anyone else will just add to the sorrow. We know people died. Why does it matter how many?"

"Shinra bastards have stopped the investigation on purpose." Zack growled. "Their own Turks blew the damn pillar. They don't want anyone finding out." Cloud stared blankly into the glow of the small lamp. Zack got up and pulled Cloud into a hug, saying softly, "Cloud, it wasn't your fault. They went back to get Wedge. Wedge would be dead now anyway. There wasn't time. Jessie and Biggs chose to die with him, rather than let him go alone. If you had helped, you would be dead too, Cloud."

Cloud whimpered, _so_ not acting his age, but unable to help himself. "I'm sick of not being able to help anyone. I'm sick of people dying in front of me, around me, _for_ me, when I can't save them."

"I know, _Otouto._" Zack murmured. "You can't keep drowning in guilt, though. In fact, you can't drown at all. We'd either starve, or I'd poison us. Since Seph and I can't cook, you know." Cloud choked on a laugh, a brief smile lighting his face. Zack grinned triumphantly. He had succeeded in dragging Cloud out of his sorrow, for the moment. Sephiroth had watched the entire scene with mild amusement. His adopted younger brothers complemented each other perfectly: Cloud to mope and Zack to make him stop. He smiled, watching them, but in his minds eye seeing another time and place, and other children playing.

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Reeve grumbled upsetly as he left the control room for his office. What did Tseng want again? He hadn't read the memo all the way. He stormed down the hall. Cait Sith was "taking a nap", at least in Aerith's eyes. When he reached his office, he opened the door, finding the Turk already seated in the chair near his desk. Reeve came in, sitting in his high-backed chair (a gift from Rufus), and looking at Tseng expectantly.

"We need you to do us a favor." Tseng said. "You are familiar with Sephiroth, ne?"

"Who isn't?" Reeve said in surprise. "He blew up half the science building to get out of here. Who could forget?"

"He will be coming here shortly." Tseng said. "We are leaving him a note. We need you to tell us where we can leave it so he will find it. You see him when you observe Aerith, right?"

"_Hai..._ How will you get him to come? I doubt he would readily come back here." Tseng smiled. He reached into a folder on his lap, withdrawing a single picture and holding it up. Reeve peered at it, and pulled back in surprise. "They're... They..."

"You recognize them, ne?" Tseng said, with a satisfied smirk. Seeing the question in Reeve's eyes, he added, "Yes, they are here. If anything can make him come back to us, they will." The Turk stood, sliding the picture back into the crisp manilla folder and smiling slightly. "Good day, Reeve." He was gone. Reeve sat back in his chair in shock. What the hell was going on?

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Li: Hi, guys. Sorry for the long wait. Three more weeks of summer and then it's back to school and school laptop. Yay! Anyway, this was basically just a filler chapter. The plot is moving, just kinda slow right now.

Oh, and as for the Japanese... I won't use a lot, just a little. Here's translations for so far:

hai - yes

Otouto - little brother, what Zack calls Cloud occasionally.

Next chapter will hopefully be up shortly after school starts. Sooner if I can manage. See you next chapter!


	6. Life Betrayed

**Chapter Six: Life Betrayed**

Several days passed after platefall, giving everyone time to heal from the wounds in their hearts. It became gradually easier to think on their fallen comrades as time went on.

Aerith looked around her small church, taking in the sights of the early morning. Her eyes lingered on the three carved stones by the edge of the flower garden. She sighed, wondering how her friends were doing, and if they had put their grief behind them yet. Going to her kitchen, she filled her watering can and returned to give her plants a well-needed drink. Zack always said that she had to have some kind of magic, to make them grow under the plate. Maybe being a Cetra did help. She smiled, pouring water on a Wutainese lily.

_Aniki… _

Aerith stood up in surprise, looking around quickly. "Who's there?" No one answered. She scanned the church, but there was no one there. It had sounded like a child. A frightened child.

_Help us… Help, please…_

Aerith prided herself on her courage, but even voices from nowhere could scare her. Fear that most people reserved for Wall Market and Shinra welled up in her. "This isn't funny! Is someone there? Is someone hurt?"

"Aerith?"

Aerith jumped, whirling to face the sound. Tseng stood there, looking mildly surprised. "Oh, Tseng! I thought you were someone else."

"No one else is here. Is everything all right?" Tseng was genuinely concerned. He came over, resting his hand on Aerith's shoulder. She was shaking slightly.

"Hearing voices when there's no one there is not all right." Aerith said slowly.

_Voices from the Lifestream, or those connected to it._ Tseng thought. _Oh, dear. Hojo would be very interested in this._ "Maybe it's just leftover stress. A lot has happened over the past few days."

"Maybe you're right..." Aerith agreed. "By the way, what brings you down here? I know it's a long walk from the plate, Tseng."

"Thought you might like to accompany me on a walk." he said. "You can show me some of the sights down here."

"That depends. Are you scared of Wall Market?" she teased. Surprised, Tseng actually laughed.

"No! Besides, it's my only day off for two weeks. Let's go see the sights."

"You never did tell me where you worked."

"Why does that matter now? Let's go!"

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In the Shinra building, a blonde-headed girl walked purposefully down the narrow hallway. She carried a manila file folder under one arm. Stopping in front of Tseng's office, she knocked and waited.

"Hey, 'Lena!" Reno's happy yell came down the hallway. The happy-go-lucky Turk bounced up to her, smiling cheerfully.

Elena blinked. "Reno. I'm trying to deliver my report to Tseng… Please come back with your chipperness later."

"Tseng's not here." Reno laughed. "He's gone to see his lady friend under the plate." Elena's ears turned red under her light hair.

"W-what? Tseng went under the plate? Is it safe?"

"Relax, Elena. He's Leader for a reason. I know you have a crush on him, but please…. He's fine." Reno smirked as Elena stammered for words. "I was kidding, you know. Tseng doesn't have a girlfriend. The one he's with now is that Cetra girl Hojo's after. Today might be the day…." Reno trailed into silence, wondering in his heart if what Tseng might do was right…… No, he wouldn't question the Leader's judgment.

"Tseng's trying to capture her? Cool."

"Something like that…" Reno frowned, and then added, "Hey, Elena. How did your mission go, anyway?"

Elena practically glowed. "It was simple. I used the address Reeve gave me, and just pinned the note to the door. No one saw me or anything." She smiled, pleased. "I doubt my sister or anyone could have done better!"

Reno smiled, albeit sadly. "Do you miss your sister?" Elena's elder sister, code-named Gun, had been one of the best female Turks they'd ever had. She had been the object of Elena's envy since forever. But Gun, along with the other Turks, had died in the fight against Zirconiade 5 years ago. A member of the original incarnation of AVALANCHE had unleashed the half-wild summon, killing himself, his teammates, and many Turks in the process. Also, several SOLDIERs had been wounded or killed too.

"Sometimes." Elena admitted. "Sometimes I wish she was still here, so I could show her how much I've done." The youngest Turk sighed. "I miss all of them. Gun, Rod, Two Guns, Shotgun, Shruikan, Katana…… And Master Veld. He was strict, as far as I remember him, but he'd always stop to offer me a tip with my training. I wanted to be a Turk so badly, and I think he respected that."

"Leader was devastated when Master Veld died." Reno said. "It hit him hard. I don't think he expected to have to take over so soon. Even though there's only the four of us now, he still has much stress placed on him from Rufus."

"Yes…. Listen, when he comes back, tell him I completed my mission. Okay?" Reno nodded, and Elena walked away, towards the break room. Reno grinned, before heading to one of the lower levels to complete his own job. According to Tseng, who was told by Rufus, Sephiroth was coming back. Reno shuddered, remembering the devastation he left when he blew up a good portion of the Science Building to escape. He had no idea how Rufus was planning to get the silver-headed devil back here, but it had to be something clever. Sephiroth was living with Zack, who had adopted the older man as a brother. Reno wondered how he dealt with the knowledge that he was living with a Shinra fugitive. Reno himself knew Zack from one of the events leading up to the Zirconiade fight, shortly before Sephiroth broke out. Zack's two friends from SOLDIER, Yishay and Sebastian, had been captured by the AVALANCHE madman, and turned into some kind of soulless fighters reminiscent of one of Hojo's experiments. He and Zack had been seventeen at the time, and he had been a Turk for two years at that point. Zack's mentor, an older First Class SOLDIER, had just gone away on the mission he never came back from. How the slums kid knew a First Class SOLDIER was a mystery. In the end, it had been impossible to get through to Yishay and Sebastian, and they had been forced to kill the pair to grant them rest.

Reno arrived on the lower levels. His job was to make sure that the rooms were relatively secure. It was hard to defend against Sephiroth, but….

He began methodically checking each room. Most were either empty or contained unused equipment, but he had to look anyway. It was a boring task, and Reno found his thoughts straying. So he almost didn't notice when he reached a door that was locked. It surprised him, since all of the rooms down here were supposedly unused. Reno smiled. Tseng had told him to check _all_ the rooms. Living in the slums until he became a Turk had its advantages. Reno took a lockpick from his pocket and slid it into the lock, jiggling it until the lock popped open. Whistling cheerily, he put the pick back in his pocket and opened the door. He was just following orders, after all.

He opened the door, and stopped abruptly. The room looked like a children's playroom, only without toys or any of the usual amusements. Three beds were lined up against one of the blank white walls. There was no art, no toys, not even a color on the walls. Just a blank white box.

Reno glanced at the beds, shocked to actually see children in them. Two were asleep, but the one on the bed nearest the tiny window was awake and crying quietly. Reno walked over slowly, trying not to disturb the other two, and whispered, "Are you all right?"

The kid looked up, brushing long, silver hair away from his face. Tears stained his cheeks as he asked fearfully, "Who are you?" Reno blinked. The kid looked like a younger version of Sephiroth, without the menace that surrounded his older counterpart.

"Are you Sephiroth's brothers?" he asked, unable to believe it.

"Yes. I'm Yazoo. That's my older brother, Loz, and my younger brother, Kadaj. Do you know our Aniki?" Yazoo looked up at Reno with big Mako-teal eyes, tears threatening to spill over.

"Not personally. Why are you crying?" Reno asked. Yazoo abruptly threw himself into Reno's arms and began to sob, albeit quietly.

"The scientists said Aniki was coming. But if he doesn't, they're going to take Kadaj away because they say he's the most like Aniki! Loz and Kadaj are all I have! If they take him….. I don't know what to do….." He cried against Reno's shirt, as Reno felt deep resentment for Shinra building up in his mind. It wasn't fair to keep children locked up like this. Reno had heard that they had died in the fire that killed their mother, Lucrecia, but apparently Shinra had kept them imprisoned here all that time.

"It's okay, Yazoo." he said softly, trying to be reassuring. "I'm sure your brother will come and get you. I'll make sure of it myself if I can." He hugged Yazoo close spontaneously, and Yazoo welcomed the embrace.

"You're way nicer than the scientists…. What's your name?"

"I'm Reno. I'll come back and see you and your brothers again, Yazoo. Don't worry." Reno stood and made his way to the door. "I have to lock it. Otherwise I might get caught." he laughed, and Yazoo nodded his understanding. Reno shut the door and used his lockpick to flick the internal mechanism locked again.

"Keeping children locked up…… What the hell is this company coming to?"

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Zack grumbled silently under his breath as he washed the dishes. Sephiroth was sitting in the living room, reading something, and had flatly refused to help. As he so bluntly put it, _Cloud left us lunch so you wouldn't poison us, and it's your turn to wash the dishes._ When Zack had protested that it was Cloud's turn, he had been met with _Cloud's not here, so it skips to you._ And Sephiroth was the one person on the Planet who was impossible to argue with.

"Damn dishes." he growled softly. At least when he was done and Cloud got back they were going to visit Aerith. It was getting close to her birthday, about a week away. He finally dried the last plate and hurried into the living room.

"Done?" Sephiroth asked, without looking up from his book. Zack mumbled something inaudible that sounded vaguely like, "No thanks to you." He sat down, turning on the radio that sat on the table. Rock music blasted from the tiny speakers, causing Sephiroth to jump a full two feet out of his chair.

"Sorry!" Zack quickly apologized to his frazzled friend. "I turned it way up the other day and didn't put it back. Sorry." Sephiroth glared at him briefly before turning his attention back to the book. Apparently he found it far more interesting than actually carrying on a conversation. Zack adjusted the radio's volume back to a more normal level and sank back in the chair. Now there would be calm and relative quiet until….

"Guys, I'm back!" Cloud's voice filtered through the building cheerfully. He hurried into the living room, carrying a pouch full of something that jingled and a folded piece of paper. "How was lunch? Did you make Zack wash the dishes, Sephiroth?"

"Yep." Obviously content to pay attention to Cloud rather than Zack's complaining, Sephiroth finally set his book down to participate in the conversation. "He wasn't happy."

"I figured."

"Where have you been all day, Spike? You were gone for hours!" Zack said loudly. Cloud grinned, tossing the jingling pouch at him. Zack opened it and blinked in surprise. "Cloud, this has to be like three hundred gil!"

"Yeah. Tifa sent me to see if anything could be salvaged from the Seventh Heaven. I found five whole crates of unbroken bottles of alcohol, Marlene's stuffed bear, and Tifa's fighting gloves. She paid me, even though I didn't really do it for the money, but I knew we needed it, so I didn't turn it down. I hate charity, though." Cloud sat down on the couch next to Sephiroth, and held up the paper. "Oh, yeah, I found this pinned to our lovely front door. It has your name on it."

Sephiroth smirked, thinking of the large sheet of plywood that served as a front door to their humble home, and took the paper. He unfolded it, read a few lines, and gasped. Cloud leaned over to see what could possibly have freaked their stoic older brother out this much. He read the curving script slowly, not believing what he was seeing.

_Sephiroth,_

_I know that we have not had the best relations in the past, but I believe it would be in both of our interests to make amends. We would like the pleasure of your company in our building as soon as possible. We might have something that can make up for everything we've done to you. It's something that we have that's partially yours. See the picture for yourself. I hope you will take us up on our offer, and we hope to see you soon._

_Sincerely,_

_President and Rufus Shinra_

"Damn." Zack muttered. "What could those Shinra bastards have that would be important to you, Seph? They destroyed your whole life. They can't just give it back at will."

Sephiroth had picked up the small picture included in the note, and was staring at it intently. "I need to go."

"WHAT?" Zack yelled. "You're actually going to trust them? It's probably just a damned trap! After everything they did to you, you really want to go back there?"

"You don't understand, Zack. I have to. It's… It's more complicated than them having just a possession of mine. This is something I have to do, or I may never….." Sephiroth trailed off, before leaving the room suddenly. He came back with a small wrapped package. "This is Aerith's birthday present. Give it to her for me, please?"

"Sure…" Cloud said slowly. "But, will you be okay?"

"Yeah. I blew up their buildings once. I can do it again." Sephiroth said. He absently patted Cloud on the head before heading for the door. He seemed rather distant, as though he were already at the Shinra building seeing whatever they had that was his.

Zack stared after him. "He's so brave it's like he's nuts. Sometimes I think he'd give up everything to have his life back." He sighed. "His dad disappeared when he was eleven, just after his youngest brother was born. He told me about it. He always figured that his dad worked for Shinra. I remember, we spent hours pouring over the Shinra files Reno smuggled to me, looking for any clues. He said his dad's hair was black, and his eyes were green. But we never found him. His mother was only referred to as Lucrecia Crescent, no married name. He can't really remember it much. He thinks Hojo has something to do with the memories being blurry. It must be sad, to lose your dad and then lose the rest of your family so soon afterwards."

Cloud had picked up the picture Sephiroth had left. "Zack, who are these people?" Zack turned and came to look at the picture. His eyes widened. The picture showed three silver-haired children standing there looking forlornly out of the picture. The older man ran into Sephiroth's room, returning with an older picture. It showed a younger Sephiroth standing with his mother and three brothers. Though younger, they were the same three in the photo Cloud had just looked at, and they were smiling.

"Shinra has Seph's brothers? Oh, merciful damn." Zack murmured. "If they tick him off, the whole building will go."

"He'd blow it up?" Cloud asked, staring at Zack with wide eyes. Zack nodded. "Shinra better be careful." He stared at the photo solemnly, before looking up at Zack. "Are we still going to see Aerith?"

"Yeah…." Zack set Sephiroth's gift on the table, before going and getting his own. Cloud pulled out a small wrapped package and set it there too. "She might have an idea for what to do about this too."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tseng and Aerith returned to the church, Aerith smiling happily.

"That was fun! It was so funny when we went by the ruins of Sector 7 and you found that charred old receipt from the Seventh Heaven that said "Reno" on it."

"Now I know where he went when he was off." Tseng said softly. "I am beginning to wonder if what happened was right… Shinra made a mistake, I think."

"Shinra caused it!" Aerith cried. "They blew the pillar on purpose! That's a pretty huge mistake!"

"The Turks blew the pillar, but most did not agree." Tseng said.

"The Turks! Oh, isn't that Zack's friend Reno?!?" Aerith gasped. "I need to tell Zack; he'll be so upset… He's coming for my early birthday party…"

Tseng stepped forward and took Aerith's arm. "Zack knows."

"What?"

"Zack knows because he knows Reno, and Reno knows me." Tseng said. "Zack knows Reno is a Turk, and he knows me as well."

Aerith paled. "Then are you… a Turk?"

"No." Tseng said. Aerith started to sigh in relief, but was stopped as he said, "I'm their leader." Aerith cried out and tried to pull away, but Tseng held her tightly. "I'm sorry. I have to take you back with me."

"You lied to me!" she wailed. "You've been my friend for years! Since I got to Midgar, practically! Was it all a lie to get me to trust you? Was it all for Hojo?" She spat the name, her hatred for the man evident.

Tseng flinched. "No. I really care for you. I've been lying to Hojo for three years, and now he's threatening to get the President, or Rufus, to send someone else for the job. Someone who might not hesitate to hurt you or anyone who tries to help you, like your hotheaded boyfriend."

Aerith was silent, only a soft sniffle marking how upset she was. Tseng watched her expression a moment, before gently taking her hand to lead her away.

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Zack and Cloud hurried through the Sector 5 tunnel.

"I told her we'd be there by two! We're late!" Zack fretted. Cloud blinked, amused at how devoted Zack was to his girlfriend. They jogged the rest of the way, stopping just before rounding the corner.

"Do you hear that?" Zack asked softly. Cloud listened intently. "Do you?" Cloud blinked, a bad feeling rising in his gut. Soft crying sounds came from around the corner, followed by another voice obviously trying to be reassuring. "That's Aerith's voice."

"Who is the other one?" Cloud asked.

"Sounds like…… Tseng!" Zack gasped. "Dammit!" He shoved his and Sephiroth's presents into Cloud's arms and dashed around the corner. Tseng was speaking softly to Aerith, telling her that everything would be all right. Zack ran right up to them. "Aerith!"

"Zack!" she said, in relief. Tseng silently released her hand.

"Excellent timing." he murmured. "Now I can tell them I was outmatched and unarmed, and had to let her go." Zack stared in surprise as Tseng turned and began to walk away.

"Wait! Why are you…?"

"It was never my wish to harm her. I am only following orders. I purposefully stalled so that you could stop me." Tseng disappeared, obviously going back to the plate. Zack watched him for a minute more, then turned and embraced Aerith.

"Are you okay?" he asked tenderly. Aerith nodded, pressing close. Cloud came from his place to the side to stand with them too. Zack smiled faintly. "Kind of ruined your early birthday party, hmm?"

"Not really. You and Cloud are here, after all……" She paused. "Where is Sephiroth?" Zack explained about the note and Shinra. Aerith listened quietly, and then said, "I don't like this. It doesn't feel right." Zack nodded.

"That's what Cloud and I thought. But there really isn't anything we can do. If he gets mad, he'll blow it up and leave. Come on, let's open presents!" Zack bounced ahead into the church, leaving Cloud and Aerith in the dust. They followed him into Aerith's kitchen, where Zack had dropped all the presents on the table. "This is Sephiroth's. Open his first!"

Aerith smiled. She carefully detached the card and read it. It read: _This is from above the plate. It was altered by Mako, so it's different. I thought you might like it. P.S. It glows in the dark._

Curious, she tore into the light pink paper. When the box was free, she opened it with eager fingers. Inside sat a small potted rose bush. It looked normal, except that its' blossoms were a bright Mako-blue.

"Ooooh!" Aerith exclaimed. "It's beautiful! Did he go up there to get this for me?" She looked over the little plant, deciding to plant it in her garden as soon as possible. Next was Zack's present, which turned out to be a pretty silver chain with a locket on the end. Then Cloud's turn came. Cloud, being the excellent cook that he was, had made spun-sugar roses. Aerith marveled at the detail and delicacy. "They're almost too pretty to eat, Cloud!"

Cloud grinned sheepishly. "Cooking is probably one of the things I'm best at." Aerith gave him a hug, then Zack, thanking them for the wonderful presents.

"And when Sephiroth gets back, I'll thank him too."

Reeve had watched the whole thing from the eyes of the "sleeping" Cait Sith. He felt sorry for all three of them. Rufus had informed all the heads of departments of his plan, and the results would not be pleasant, for them or Sephiroth. He sighed unhappily. At least Zack had gotten there in time to stop Tseng from taking Aerith away. Reeve didn't know what kind of things would happen next, but they were sure to contain more pain. For everyone.

Zack and Cloud left the church in excellent moods.

"We'll be back Saturday for your birthday!" Zack called, waving goodbye. "Cloud and I are working at that weird restaurant in Sector 3 this week. See you next weekend!"

"Be careful!" Aerith called. "There's a nasty flu going around. Don't get sick!"

"We'll be fine!" Aerith waved until the two young men were out of sight, then returned to the church to enjoy her early birthday presents.

VIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVII

Li: Hi, guys! Who saw that plot twist coming? Yazoo? Reno? Honest, now! Anywho, now I at least have my school laptop, but I've had to rage against the machine and fight the firewall to reach the site. Just so no one's confused, I'm throwing a lot of Before Crisis stuff in there too. And what little I know of Crisis Core will show up next chapter, along with the conclusion of pre-Last Order. Yay for the plot getting its' ass moving at last! Chapter Seven will be up soon. All who review get a shiny new Tifa plushie, to love or torture depending on your feelings about her!

**EDIT: I fixed the conversation between Tseng and Aerith, and I fixed Zack and Reno's ages during the Zirconiade crisis. Done with the edits! **


	7. Sacrifice

_Save your tears,  
__For the day,  
__When our pain is far behind.  
__On your feet,  
__Come with me,  
__We are soldiers, stand or die.  
__Save your fears,  
__Take your place,  
__Save them for the Judgment Day.  
__Fast and free,  
__Follow me,  
__Time to make a sacrifice.  
__We rise or fall…._

_"Rise" – Origa_

Chapter Seven: Sacrifice

"I can't believe you caught the flu, Spike." Zack admonished. He was in the kitchen, following the directions on a can of chicken noodle soup. Cloud was lying miserably on the couch with a fever of 103 and a very nauseous stomach.

"Not my fault…. Damn restaurant…." Cloud mumbled, eyes closed under the cool cloth Zack had placed on his forehead. They had signed up to work at a restaurant for a week to earn some extra gil, and apparently the place had been crawling with germs. Zack's mako in his immune system had protected him, but Cloud was not so lucky.

"It's all right." Zack said. He finished the soup and brought it over. "Here. It's not poison, just so you know." Zack's cooking had been getting miraculously better lately. He could at least follow directions on the packages. Cloud took a few mouthfuls, then groaned, arms wrapped around his stomach.

"Sorry, Zack…. My stomach feels awful. It does taste good, though." Zack nodded, sitting down on the couch. He pulled Cloud's head and the pillow it rested on into his lap, twining one hand into the gold spikes.

"Well, there's no way you can go see Aerith in this condition." Zack said. Cloud made a faint protesting noise, and Zack laughed. "You'll spread your germs! How about this: Take a nap and see how you feel later." Cloud sighed, curling up with his head still in Zack's lap. His eyes closed, and there was no other sound besides his quiet breathing. Zack made no attempt to move, contentedly stroking Cloud's hair. There was one thing still bothering him.

Where was Sephiroth? It had been exactly a week since their silver-haired big brother had left for the Shinra building. Zack had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was just something wrong he couldn't place. Cloud stirred in his sleep, mumbling absently. Zack leaned close to listen.

"Ow…. Zack….. I don't like leap-tackle-hugs….. I told you……" Cloud mumbled sleepily. Zack laughed silently. Cloud was adorable when he was asleep. He looked younger too. Cloud had showed up at their door two years ago, two years after when he had met Sephiroth. He had just reached Midgar and had been looking for anywhere to stay. Cloud had thought the building was abandoned, and had pretty much walked in and curled up on the couch. Imagine his and Sephiroth's surprise when they got home a half-hour later and discovered him sleeping there. They had put a blanket on him and left him be, and in the morning found out who he was and what he was doing there. They adopted him as a little brother, partly because he seemed like a great person and needed somewhere to stay, and partly because Sephiroth insisted on it, since Cloud could cook. He had almost given up on choking down the meals that Zack made, since Zack didn't seem to realize his cooking was awful.

Zack smiled fondly at the memory, glancing down at Cloud. The blonde-headed boy was soundly asleep. He gently eased off of the couch, and went to put away the dishes.

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Deep inside the Shinra building, Reno was walking towards the break room. He had been visiting with Yazoo and his brothers. They were all very nice kids. Kadaj, who was eleven, had a unique talent for drawing. Yazoo was good with darts, and Loz liked paddleball, of all things. Yazoo and Loz were fourteen and fifteen, respectively. Reno had been bringing them things to play with: paper and colored pencils for Kadaj, a gun that shot small plunger-tipped darts and a target for Yazoo, and a paddleball for Loz. It was probably against the rules, though, so he had told them to hide it all if anyone was coming.

As he approached the door to the break room, he paused. The voices of Rufus and Tseng were in there, as well as the nasally voice that could only belong to Professor Hojo. The door was open a crack, and Reno stood close to listen.

"Sir, this is not the best course of action. If the mental blocks that the, ahem, esteemed Professor put on him do not work as well as they should, then he could, in theory, break from us." Tseng's carefully respectful voice addressed Rufus softly.

"Nothing can go wrong." Hojo's annoyingly unbearable voice said. "I created the blocks myself."

There was the loud sound of a coffeemaker announcing that the coffee was ready, over which Reno barely heard, "Zackary Donovan and Cloud Strife? Yes. Based on what he said, they've done plenty to warrant arrest. Foremost being stealing materia." It was Rufus's voice. "Why shouldn't we test the blocks now? It would be the strongest test we could hope to set them against."

"If they fail, we'll never get another chance." Tseng said. "He would not stand it, nor would the one's he calls his brothers." Rufus made an unconcerned noise, and Tseng sighed. "All right, Sir."

Reno blinked in shock, positive that he had just heard something he shouldn't have. There was only one person they could be discussing. _Sephiroth._ And Zack and Cloud…. Zack had stolen materia? Oh, great flying Bahamuts, all hell was about to break loose. From the bit he'd heard, they were sending a brainwashed Sephiroth after them. Reno turned and ran. There were a few things he had to do.

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Cloud was still sleeping when Zack had finished his lunch. The black-haired young man blinked over at his little brother. Getting up, he placed a palm against Cloud's forehead, noting that his fever had quite possibly gone down a degree or two. He looked up at the small collection of pictures on the wall, another touch that made this feel like home. He wondered idly why Cloud had never asked about the people in the pictures. There was one of his parents, and one that was a larger version of Sephiroth's picture of his family. There were multiple pictures of him and Seph goofing off, and a couple that had Cloud in them too. Last was a relatively small picture of a grinning Zack and a faintly-smiling older man. The older man was wearing the uniform of a SOLDIER, and had his hand on Zack's shoulder. Zack smiled at that memory. The day he'd succeeded in actually making his friend Angeal laugh.

Cloud stirred, looking up at Zack. "What time is it?" Zack indicated the clock.

"A little after twelve. Your fever is a bit better." Zack said. "You feel sick at all?"

"No. Can I have some soup now?" Cloud asked, looking small and ill. Zack smiled, and went to heat up the remains of lunch.

After Cloud had eaten something, they were sitting around the living room discussing where Sephiroth could be. Zack was fully of the opinion that something terrible had happened, but did not want to leave Cloud to go find out. Cloud was getting ready to say something to add to that, when there was a frantic hammering on their front door. Zack got up, shifting the plywood sheet to the side to reveal a panicked Reno standing there.

"Reno?" Zack said incredulously. "What's the matter?"

"Shinra knows about you and the theft of that materia!" Reno cried. "What were you thinking! They're sending…. Hojo has brainwashed Sephiroth and is sending him after you!"

"What!" Cloud yelped. "He wouldn't hurt us… He's our brother!"

"I don't know." Reno said. "But he's on his way, regardless. Be careful. If you hold him off for long enough, help may come." Reno turned, not wanting to be caught as a traitor to Shinra. "I didn't tell you any of this!" He disappeared around the corner, and Zack looked back at Cloud.

"We have to do something. If it's true, we're in big trouble." Zack said softly. He turned to go upstairs. Cloud forced himself off of the couch to follow him. Zack trekked up to the third floor, stopping in front of a door.

Cloud stared. That particular door had been locked the entire time he'd been here. "Zack, that door is locked."

"Of course it is, Spike." Zack said.

"Then why……"

"That's why I have the key." He pulled a nondescript metal key from his pocket, slid it into the lock, and opened the door. Inside was a single table, and on the table were a sword and the gear to carry it. Cloud gaped. It was the biggest sword he'd ever seen. Zack went inside, picked it up like it was nothing, and shrugged into the carrying gear. He slid the sword into the straps that ran across his back and turned to grin at Cloud.

"Zack….." Cloud said, unsure. "Weapons are forbidden… Please don't tell me you took that sword."

Zack came over and bent to look Cloud in the eyes. "Do you trust me?" he asked in a deadly serious voice. Cloud swallowed hard, before nodding. Zack lead him back down the stairs. "This is the Buster Sword. It's mine, and it's been mine for a long time. I didn't steal it. A First Class SOLDIER gave it to me."

"You knew a SOLDIER?" Cloud said, disbelieving.

"Yeah. More than one, actually. I met two of them, Yishay and Sebastian, at a bar. We became friends. It was them who introduced me to the First Class."

"Why don't you see them anymore?" Cloud asked. In two years, Zack had never mentioned any of these people.

"They died." Zack said softly. "You know the Zirconiade crisis, right? The incident with the original AVALANCHE? It took me a long time to trust Tifa and Barrett, because some of the original AVALANCHE was not what it seemed. One of the leader Elfe's closest companions was creating a soulless fighting force called the Ravens to serve them. His name was Fuhito. He was amazingly and disturbingly reminiscent of Hojo in these experiments. He took Yishay and Sebastian both, and took their souls before we could stop him. That was when I met Reno, since the Turks were practically at war with AVALANCHE at that point. We tried to save them, to call them back, but it was no use." Zack's voice cracked, and he finished with some difficulty, "I had to kill them. Two of my best friends." He stared at the ground a moment, and then continued, "But long before they died, they introduced me to Angeal, a SOLDIER First Class. He saw talent in me, probably because of my exposure to Mako, and agreed to be my mentor. He tried to persuade me to join SOLDIER, but I refused. He taught me everything I know about swords and hand-to-hand fighting."

"What happened to him?" Cloud asked.

"I don't really know. He was sent on a top secret mission. Before he left, he gave me his sword and SOLDIER emblem to remember him by. Then he was gone, and he never came back. That was just before the Raven incident. So I lost all three of my SOLDIER friends in one go." Zack held up the emblem, which bore the Shinra logo and the words SOLDIER First Class. "I don't want to lose Sephiroth to Shinra's fights. No one else."

Cloud was silent as he reflected on this. Zack was happy, truly happy, here. Even with everything that had happened to him in the past. No wonder he didn't want to lose Sephiroth. It would just take someone else important to him away. Cloud and Sephiroth were all he had left.

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It had only been a little while. Cloud and Zack were curled on the couch, watching the slightly fuzzy TV.

"Seven years ago, the infamous General Xavier Domini razed the town of Corel to the ground. He was a head of the Shinra SOLDIER army, and was working under Shinra's orders. The company blamed the people for a malfunction of the Corel Mako Reactor, calling it sabotage. When the people fought back, the town was burned to the ground." the History Channel blared. Zack grinned.

"The only good thing about having a TV that's been broken eight times is that it picks up the blocked channels, eh, Spike?" Zack laughed. "Doesn't that Corel incident sound familiar?"

"We didn't sabotage the reactor." Cloud growled. "No one ever went near Mt. Nibel. They were afraid of the reactor. They burned Nibelheim for a different reason."

"Well, at least we know Shinra's solution to problems. Burn it!" Zack chuckled. Cloud smiled faintly, imagining Rufus Shinra and Hojo being problems.

"Zack, the only reason the TV broke eight times was because you threw it at the wall trying to get a channel. Eight times."

"Well, it works now, doesn't it?" Zack laughed. Cloud looked back at the TV, which was showing an image of the great General's weapon. The Masamune, it was called. It was a six-foot-long katana, with two slots for materia in the pommel. Cloud was reminded of Zack's own Buster Sword, sitting within reach next to the arm of the sofa.

"Yeah, I guess so." he acquiesced. Zack smiled and ruffled Cloud's hair fondly, before flicking through the TV channels. He stopped on a music channel to listen.

_And baby you're all that I want, when you're lying here in my arms. I'm finding it hard to believe we're in Heaven. And love is all that I need, and I found it there in your heart. It isn't too hard to see, we're in Heaven….._

"That sounds like us." Zack commented.

"That's a love song! Last time I checked, you and me and Seph are not in love with each other." Cloud protested. "Are you getting a fever too?"

"NO. Other than the lovey part. We all came to Midgar, or in Seph's case, the bottom plate, looking for love and acceptance. And we found said love and acceptance with each other. Our family is all that we need, and we have it right here. We're truly in Heaven, just Heaven in disguise."

"Wow, Zack. That's so philosophical." Cloud said sarcastically. "How unlike you."

"Wow, Cloud, that's so sarcastic. How_ like_ you." Zack responded mockingly. Cloud growled and attempted to muster the energy to hit his adopted brother with a pillow, but failed miserably. Zack laughed at his attempt and cuddled him. "Yes, little Cloudy… You know you can't best your big brother….." he said singsongishly. Cloud squirmed, trying to break free, but couldn't. He gave up, lying limp on top of Zack to accept the cuddling without complaint. Zack was about to make another mocking remark, but was interrupted by a loud hammering on the door.

"I'm coming!" Zack said, pushing Cloud off of him and back onto the couch. Cloud started to get up too, but froze at the sound of splintering wood.

"Our door!" he said, not registering what was going on. Zack threw out an arm, keeping Cloud behind him and groping for his Buster Sword. He got his hand around the hilt as a very tall person strode into the room. Zack sighed.

"Oy, Seph, don't scare us like that." he said, only his voice marking the traces of uneasiness he still felt. "It took me forever to find a piece of plywood big enough for that doorway. Why'd you break it?"

Sephiroth merely stared at them. Zack cocked his head to the side, watching him carefully. But it was Cloud who tugged on Zack's sleeve and whispered in a panicked voice, "SOLDIERs!" A small group of them was filing in silently behind Sephiroth. Zack's eyes widened, as Sephiroth finally spoke.

"Zackary Donovan and Cloud Strife, you are under arrest for the crimes of stealing materia and possessing a weapon." he said emotionlessly. Cloud gasped, and Zack unconsciously tightened his grip on the Buster Sword. This could be a joke, a very Sephiroth-style joke, save for the SOLDIERs and Sephiroth's eyes. The last time Zack had seen his eyes glowing like that was when he'd nearly killed a man in Wall Market. Unwillingly, he felt the slightest bit afraid.

"Sephiroth…. What did they do to you?" he asked softly. "Come on, Seph. You don't want to listen to Shinra….. What about your brothers?" He was referring to all of Sephiroth's brothers. Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz, as well as him and Cloud.

"You are under arrest." Sephiroth repeated. "Do not force me to resort to violence." He drew the sword that had been unnoticed at his side, and Zack swore under his breath.

"Oh, hell. Masamune." he breathed. The infamous weapon of the general who razed Corel rested easily in the hand of their elder brother, marking for certain that he now belonged to Shinra. Zack didn't want to admit it, but they'd have to fight to get out of here now. He gripped the hilt of his own sword, lifting its' tip slightly off the ground, but before he could move, three small figures raced through the ruins of the door to stand between them.

"Aniki!" the smallest one cried.

"Why are you trying to hurt them?" whined the tallest.

"Aniki, that's Zack-nii-sama and Cloud-nii-san. You told us about them. Why would you attack them?" The middle one was obviously trying to reason with Sephiroth. It didn't seem to have much effect, as Sephiroth merely glared coldly at them.

Zack leaned over and whispered something in Cloud's ear, before looking back at Sephiroth and the children. How had Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo gotten here? Surely Shinra would have kept them locked up. He mouthed silently "One, two, three…." And then he and Cloud moved.

Zack grabbed Kadaj, as Cloud seized Yazoo and Loz by the hands and dragged them after Zack. Zack was running towards the back door of the building. Well, it wasn't really a back door so much as a hole in the wall they had discovered four days ago. Either way, it was hopefully about to save them.

Kadaj was wailing something incoherent that sounded like, "I want Aniki, put me down!" Yazoo merely stared at Cloud with large, questioning, mako-teal eyes. Loz was crying silently.

Zack led them out the crumbled portion of the wall, and raced down a nearby street.

"Where are we going?" Cloud cried, looking towards a bewildered Yazoo and Loz. Zack pointed to a tall building on the outskirts of the sector. He hurried into it, leading Cloud up the stairs to the roof.

"Sephiroth kept hinting that this was where his secret passage was." Zack explained. He pointed to a platform suspended just above roof level. "We're going up." He climbed up, setting Kadaj down and turning to help the others. They slowly maneuvered their way to the base of the plate, where Zack found the latch to the trapdoor.

When they emerged onto the Shinra grounds, sirens were blaring. Zack looked over and saw SOLDIERs pouring out of one of the barrack buildings.

"We need to get out of the city." he said quietly.

"What about Aniki?" Yazoo asked.

Zack knelt, hugging Yazoo. "We're leaving, because your Aniki's very sick, and we have to find a cure. You understand? Don't worry. Cloud and I will take care of you."

Yazoo nodded. "Okay, nii-sama. We'll save Aniki together." Cloud looked at Zack over Yazoo's head, frowning, but Zack ignored him.

They walked down the road that led out of the city. A man stood near the exit, loading packages onto his yellow pickup truck.

"Hey!" Zack called, running up to him. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Kalm. What's it to you?" the man responded.

"Can we get a ride with you?"

"Why?"

Zack pulled out Angeal's SOLDIER emblem and held it up. "This cadet and I are escorting these children to Kalm on Shinra's orders." The man's eyes widened.

"A SOLDIER First Class!" he cried, surprised. "Of course you can get a ride. Is someone after the children?"

"Yes." Zack pulled out one hundred gil and handed it to the man. "Thank you." He climbed into the back of the truck, helping Cloud and the others in after him.

"Sure thing." The man climbed into his truck, starting the engine and driving down the road, leaving Midgar behind. Zack watched the city shrink behind them, his only thought, _Damn. We can't go see Aerith now. I'll have to send her a letter so she doesn't worry._

Twelve hours later, they were still riding in the old truck. It was about eleven o'clock at night, and Zack and Loz were the only ones awake. Cloud was snoring softly on Zack's shoulder, and Yazoo had fallen asleep with his head in Zack's lap. Kadaj was curled up against Loz.

Zack absently stroked Yazoo's long hair, commenting, "I guess we're the designated pillows." Loz looked at him a moment before smiling. In actuality, Zack didn't mind. Cloud's fever had flared up again because of the unexpected flight, and sleeping was the best thing for him now.

"Is Aniki okay?" The question was spoken quietly, sadness tingeing the fifteen-year-old's features. Zack wasn't sure how to respond, because he wasn't entirely sure what Shinra had done to Seph.

"Yeah, he'll be okay once we figure out how to cure him. Go on and get some sleep, Loz. It's going to be a long trip."

"_Hai_, nii-sama." Loz closed his eyes, and within minutes was asleep. Zack stared at the silent road ahead, as the truck rumbled to a stop.

"Good night, SOLDIER." the driver said. Zack waved slightly, before leaning his head back and trying to sleep himself.

The following day, they were once again cruising along the road to Kalm. Everyone was awake. Zack was telling outrageously exaggerated stories of him and Angeal and Yishay and Sebastian: things that they had done, and things that no one would ever do. Loz and Kadaj were laughing happily, as Zack described Sebastian falling into a hole while running a recon mission. Yazoo was smiling, and Cloud merely shook his head in exasperation. His fever had dropped again, and he was still tired, but other than that felt fine.

It was like a real family, Cloud realized suddenly. Here, now, it felt less like two best friends and the three younger brothers of their other, slightly insane, friend. They felt like real brothers, like they'd known each other always. And as he thought on Sephiroth, Cloud realized that even if he had been brainwashed by Shinra, he was still their oldest brother, blood ties or not.

A whirring, chopping sound cut into Zack's cheerful story. Cloud looked up, seeing a helicopter overhead and trucks of SOLDIERs on the road behind them. A SOLDIER leaned out the window, holding a rifle.

"Sniper!" Zack yelled. "Duck!" He dove, knocking them all to the floor of the truck.

"What in bloody Hell is going on!" the truck driver yelled. "Why are SOLDIERs shooting at you?"

"Just drive!" Zack bellowed. "They're after us! We're getting off!" He seized Cloud. "Jump and run!" He pushed Cloud off the side of the truck. He rolled to the edge of the road, got up and ran a short distance. Zack helped Loz and Kadaj out, then grabbed Yazoo and jumped himself.

They sprinted up the grassy cliff. Midgar could be seen, a faint outline on the horizon. SOLDIERs poured from the trucks, coming after them.

"Cloud, take the children and run. I'll hold them off. Head for Kalm." Zack said, turning to face the oncoming SOLDIERs.

"No!" Cloud latched onto the back of Zack's shirt. "…. I'm scared. Don't leave…. Please…. If something happens to you too…."

"Cloud…" Zack shifted, turning to embrace his younger brother. He hugged Cloud close to him, saying softly, "I know. But you know the rule of siblings? It's the older one's job to take care of the younger ones. Your job is to get Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo safely to Kalm. My job is to stop those SOLDIERs from catching you. I'll be fine, 'kay? Meet you in Kalm."

Cloud nodded shakily. Zack pulled out his Buster Sword, pressing it into Cloud's hand. "Here. Use this if anything happens on the way."

"But, what about you?"

"I'm perfectly capable of taking on a few SOLDIERs." Zack grinned, before turning and running down the hill. Cloud felt a smaller hand slip into his own, and looked at Kadaj.

"Nii-sama's really brave, isn't he, nii-san?" Kadaj asked innocently. Cloud could only nod weakly.

"Yeah, Kadaj. Come on. Let's listen to him and head for Kalm."

They hurried the rest of the way up the hill. When they reached the top, Cloud turned to look back, just for a moment. Zack was moving effortlessly in a dance to silent music, bashing in SOLDIER's faces with a grace only someone with Mako enhancements could possess. Cloud felt an involuntary smile slip to his face. Zack was the equal of or better than any SOLDIER down there. He was about to turn back around, when something caught his eye.

A single SOLDIER in a blue uniform, leaning out of one of the trucks with a sniper rifle in his hand. He sighted along its' barrel, aiming directly at the raven-haired man so casually besting the rest of the SOLDIERs. Cloud's world seemed to slow down, as the SOLDIER pulled the trigger.

Zack turned at the sound of the bullet, but had no time to dodge. He staggered backwards as it hit his lung, falling to the ground. In that moment, the world shattered.

Cloud released Kadaj's hand, starting back down the hill. "ZACK!" A sharp cry from behind him arrested his run.

"Nii-san!" SOLDIERs had snuck up the hill behind him while he'd been watching Zack, and had grabbed the younger children. Cloud moved to help them, but stopped as his head spun. His fever. Damn. He wasn't getting adequate rest to make it better, so it kept making him feel terrible at the worst possible moments. He swayed, as SOLDIERs closed in around him.

"Zack…. You promised you'd be fine…." His eyes refused to stay open, and he knew no more.

VIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVII

Li: Oh, y'all are going to KILL me for this! Please don't! I was in soooo much pain while writing it...

And now, the mandatory Japanese lesson:

Aniki - older brother  
nii-san - brother  
nii-sama- just a more respectful form of brother, for Zack 'cause he's older.

I do not own Rise by Origa or Heaven by Brian Adams

On a lighter note, I finally can work on my laptop again! Thank you firewall-killer! So, with Zack shot BEFORE Last Order, how is Cloud going to make it out of Nibelheim? Review and tell me, and you get the plushie collection with the younger versions of all six brothers! Doesn't matter if you're right or not. If you are right, you get a plushie of that little blue SOLDIER guy to torture. (Rip his limbs off!) Anyway, three LO chapters are next. What will I do with three years of time? Wait and see...


	8. Part 1: Sephiroth

Another Side, Another Story  
Celestial's Last Order

_They say that I must learn to kill before I can feel safe.  
__But I would rather kill myself than turn into their slave._

_"In the Shadows" – The Rasmus_

Part 1: Sephiroth

It hadn't been a good idea to go to the Shinra building. It was playing with fire, again. But he couldn't just sit at home and do nothing.

"I'm coming." Sephiroth whispered to himself, as though the words could reach his little brothers' ears. When he had seen the picture, he had of course doubted its' validity. But if there was even a small chance that his brothers were alive, he would not leave them in Shinra's clutches. Shinra had tried to kill them all. They had killed his mother. That was certain. He had seen her motionless body as he ran back to the smoldering house.

_She died trying to save your brothers. They were trapped inside the house. _Scarlett, one of Rufus's lackeys, had told him that, trying to hide her amusement, since she found pain fun. In that moment, Sephiroth had known it was Shinra's fault. Professor Hojo, damn him to Hell, had told him in gleeful tones that he would stay in the science building now. Three days later, half the building and Sephiroth were gone. He had found his secret way to under the plate, and had met Zack.

That had been funny in and of itself. Some moron in Wall Market had decided to pick a fight with the eighteen-year-old silver-haired boy. Sephiroth had nearly killed him, until Zack stepped in.

_I know you. They talked about you on the radio. Shinra will find you if you cause a murder. Come with me, Sephiroth._

He had trusted Zack, and it had all worked out for the best. Two years later, when a sixteen-year-old boy with chocobo hair turned up at their door, it was almost like he had a real family again.

He stared up the tall building on the outskirts of Sector 4. Going inside, he made his way up the stairs and to the roof. He had hinted to Zack that this was where the way was hidden, but had never said anything definite. Looking up at the platforms carefully suspended at random up to the plate, he wondered who had designed this. It couldn't even be seen from the ground. He jumped lightly from platform to platform, reaching the plate and pushing up the trapdoor into the Shinra grounds.

Walking into the main building, he laughed as the secretary at the desk fainted dead away at the sight of him. He stood there a moment, before one of the elevators opened.

"Rufus wants to see you." Reno drawled, not in the least bit intimidated. "He's got something to show you."

"If you've lied to me…." Sephiroth threatened softly, getting into the large elevator. He watched Reno leaning against the wall, then asked, "You know Zack, right?"

"Yeah. Met him a year before you did, during the Zirconiade crisis. He was trying to save his SOLDIER friends from the original AVALANCHE. We couldn't, though." Reno said. Emotion barely tinged his voice, as if he felt bad for taking another of Zack's friends from him.

Sephiroth nodded silently. The elevator reached the seventieth floor, where the president's office was. Reno swiped his key card, and opened the door. Rufus was sitting in his father's chair, looking smug.

"Sephiroth. Good to see you. Pardon it just being me; my father has a dreadful headache." Rufus said. He motioned for Reno to wait outside. "I'm sure you're eager to discover what we have that you could possibly want."

"Give me my brothers, Shinra." Sephiroth said coldly. Rufus raised an eyebrow.

"Such a hurry…" he sighed. "Yes. We hoped to make amends by returning your younger brothers to you. You may see them, and then we can discuss the terms for you getting them back."

"Terms?" Sephiroth growled softly. "You implied you were doing this out of your own goodwill."

"You did blow up a large portion of one of our buildings. It seems only fair you should have to make up for that." Rufus said, the patronizing smile never leaving his face. Sephiroth glared at him, jade eyes cold. A faint glow came from them as he restrained himself from just throttling Rufus there and then. Rufus ignored the obvious danger. "Reno. Take this key and show our guest his brothers. They are in the lowest floor of the science building. Room 436." Rufus pulled out a key from a drawer on his desk and handed it to Reno. Reno gave no outward sign of anything, but scowled the second he was out of Rufus's sight.

"Like I need the damn key." he muttered. He motioned to Sephiroth to follow, and as the elevator descended, decided to explain. "I found your brothers a while ago."

"What do you mean, 'found'?" Sephiroth asked.

Reno grinned. "Tseng ordered me to inspect the rooms in the science building. One was locked. Locked door versus lockpick equals me getting inside. The middle brother, Yazoo…. We've gotten to know each other pretty well. They're nice kids."

"Yeah, I miss them." Sephiroth said. Reno looked at him in surprise. They made this guy out to be like a devil-on-earth, but he seemed just as human as anyone else. Reno felt bad that Rufus was using his younger brothers as blackmail, but there was nothing he could do.

They arrived at the science buildings in due time. Reno took a very long, roundabout way to the lowest floor.

"Helps to avoid Hojo and those other creepy scientists." he explained. Sephiroth nodded, as Reno finally came to a stop in front of a door. "Wait here a minute." He unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

Loz and Yazoo were frantically trying to shove Loz's paddleball and Yazoo's darts underneath one of the mattresses. Yazoo turned in a panic, only to find the grinning fire-haired Turk. "Reno!"

"Hope you're not that slow when it's actually a scientist." Reno laughed.

"You're faster with the key than they are. They're almost always carrying on some kind of conversation. I thought you said you didn't have a key." Yazoo pointed out, looking puzzled.

"I got it from Rufus. He wanted me to bring someone to see you." Reno leaned out the door and motioned to Sephiroth. The silver-haired man came forward hesitantly. Reno did not seem like the type to lie, but it could be a trick.

Yazoo, Kadaj, and Loz all watched with wide eyes when he came in. It had been almost four and a half years, but it was definitely their Aniki. Kadaj moved first, running over and latching onto Sephiroth's leg. Sephiroth picked up the eleven-year-old, hugging him tightly to make sure he was real.

"I thought you were dead." he said quietly.

"We never gave up, Aniki. We always knew you'd come save us." Yazoo said, coming over to hug him as well. Sephiroth looked at him in surprise. It took all of his power to maintain his mask, and keep any tears from escaping his eyes. _Family_. His family was alive. Everything he'd wanted for four years was coming true in one moment.

Reno watched the near-silent group hug, not wanted to intrude. He was glad that Yazoo and his brothers were happy. Apparently their older brother was exactly as they remembered him. Sephiroth turned, one arm around Yazoo and the other around Loz. Reno met the man's jade eyes with his own blue-green ones, as Sephiroth said, with more emotion than Reno had believed possible, "Thank you. More than you will ever realize."

"Yeah." Reno said softly, smiling at the children. "Any time."

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Over the next two days, Sephiroth visited with his brothers often. He told them tales of Zack and Cloud, their adopted older brothers, and of the strange things they'd been up to. He told them of platefall, and the church, and Wall Market. In return, they told him of their time in Shinra, of the scientists, and goofing off with Reno. They told of Reno coming in dressed up as Hojo, and spending the better part of an hour making fun of the mad scientist. Sephiroth was proud when Yazoo showed him how well his aim had gotten with the dart gun, and when Loz proved he could hit the ball more than twenty times with the paddleball, and when Kadaj showed him a drawing of Midgar, only without the plate.

"It's a city on edge." Kadaj said with a smile.

"Edge of what?" Sephiroth inquired.

"Change."

Sephiroth wondered sometimes about his younger brother's perceptiveness. The boy had an uncanny ability to tell what was going on without anyone explaining it to him. Sometimes he wondered if Kadaj even realized how unusual his perceptiveness was.

After three days, Sephiroth was again in Rufus's office. The young president was smirking, a sure sign of trouble.

"We've decided what you can do to get your brothers back." Rufus said. Sephiroth glared, but Rufus continued anyway, knowing he was safe from the other's wrath. "Professor Hojo requests to run some tests on you, to complete his research."

"If you think that I'm going to let that foul…." Sephiroth began, but was interrupted as the door opened and Hojo himself walked in.

"Rufus?" His voice was just as horrible and irritating as Sephiroth remembered it. "I've gotten the test results back, and I was correct. The youngest is the most like Sephiroth. I can use him as a test subject, if you give me permission." The good doctor was totally oblivious to the waves of hatred being thrown at him from Sephiroth's direction.

"That will be unnecessary. I just asked Sephiroth himself if he would be willing to submit to the tests." Rufus said smoothly, seeing that Sephiroth was about ready to kill them both. Hojo glanced up from his notes, eyes lighting on Sephiroth and widening in surprise.

"Oh, excellent! And?"

Sephiroth glared between the two, furious that they had set him up like this. He either had to endure god-knows-whatever tests Hojo had in mind, or refuse and leave his brothers here in the scientists' hands. Hojo had been clear in implying that he would use Kadaj for his foul tests if Sephiroth refused. "Fine." he deadpanned. Hojo lit up like a Christmas tree, while Rufus just continued being unbearably smug. Sephiroth sighed. He knew he would regret this later.

Hojo had him come to the lab the very next day, the fourth of his visit. Sephiroth randomly found himself wondering what Zack and Cloud were doing. Probably destroying something vital to the building, or sleeping all day. At least, Zack might. Cloud was above such activities. They probably wondered where he was.

Hojo was almost bursting with some kind of sick joy. Sephiroth longed to destroy him. Not just kill him. Utterly and completely destroy him. He had never felt more hatred for a single human being in his entire life. Yet for the sake of his brothers he submitted to the "tests", as Hojo called them.

"Sit, sit!" Hojo called, messing with something further back in the lab. Sephiroth sat down in a stiff plastic chair, hating it with a passion. He wanted to destroy not just Hojo himself, but anything and everything the man cared about. Namely his precious lab and research, since he didn't give a damn for human life.

"What kind of goddamned tests are these?" he demanded. Normally he wouldn't curse so much, but Professor Hojo irked him so much…...

"DNA tests to see where some of your more unique traits came from. Psyche test to see what your subconscious is up to…." Hojo wasn't listening. He was busy digging a clipboard out of a huge pile of paper.

"What is there to find out? Enhanced strength and agility and glowing eyes come from your damned Mako experiments." Silver hair was unexplainable. His mother's hair had been brown, and his father's black. His father's eyes had been green, though. That was where his own jade-colored eyes had come from. But his hair was a mystery. Maybe Mako treatment before birth had changed something….

Hojo bustled over, carrying an anesthesia mask.

"Oh, hell no." Sephiroth said immediately. He wanted to be conscious. He didn't trust Hojo as far as he could throw him. But the doctor shook his head.

"It's impossible to analyze a conscious person's psyche." he said, annoyingly sure of himself. Sephiroth glared, and Hojo added, "I could try with Kadaj; he seems to have interesting dreams."

It took infinite amounts of self-control to keep him from grabbing Hojo and ripping him limb from limb. No one would ever realize the limits of Sephiroth's patience, since he had more self-control than god. His only response to the statement was a faint growl and a jade glare of death shot in Hojo's direction. Hojo noticed, however, and grinned.

Sephiroth sat, much to his displeasure, in the chair that Hojo kept in the center of the room. He put on the anesthesia mask and continued to glare as the ether was turned on. At least, that's what Sephiroth assumed it was. It could be just about anything; Hojo could be poisoning him with carbon monoxide for all he knew.

Hojo was smiling twistedly in the background. Sephiroth made a mental note to strangle him as soon as he woke up. The edges of the world grew fuzzy, and blackness started closing in.

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"Aniki." Kadaj said, sitting up suddenly. He looked around their small room, blinking at the walls.

"What is it, Kadaj?" Loz asked from his position on his bed. He was lying on his back, counting under his breath as he hit the paddleball. "Darn." he mumbled as he missed. "Thirty-three."

"Something's wrong with Aniki." Kadaj murmured. "I don't know what it is." He stared at the drawing he had been working on. It was a picture of a SOLDIER emblem. He had started to write a name where it should have gone. It now read Anack, for no apparent reason. It was like he had started to write one thing, but had finished writing another.

Yazoo came over and sat by him. "Is it like he's in pain, or sad, or what?" He had grown used to Kadaj being able to tell what certain people were feeling.

"Muzzy." Kadaj said. "There's fog, and fuzz. Awareness faded, like smoky mist."

"Drugged?" Yazoo suggested softly. Kadaj shook his head.

"Like anesthesia." Kadaj said. "Like… a scientific thing. Knock someone out for a while." Yazoo glanced at Loz. Scientists, and anything to do with them, never boded well. Loz shook his head, meaning they could not do anything about it.

"It'll be all right, Kadaj. Aniki's invincible, pretty much. Don't worry."

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It had been seven days since Sephiroth had arrived at the Shinra building. Reno was feeling apprehensive. He hadn't seen the man in three days. Only the day after Hojo had finished his tests. Woozy from anesthesia, the taller man had allowed Reno to practically drag him back to the room he had been given, where he promptly passed out on his bed.

Reno smirked, thinking that if he didn't care for the children so much, and didn't know how much Sephiroth cared for them, he would have nothing to do with the silver-haired man for any amount of money. But as he had gotten to know the man, he'd realized that Sephiroth was just like any normal person.

He clutched his morning cup of coffee, mumbling an incoherent hello to Elena as he passed her in the hall. She blinked, then smiled.

"Reno's never coherent until about noon. Even eleven is far too early for him." she laughed. Tseng, who was walking beside her, frowned.

"Why didn't he say hello to me? You would think he'd notice his leader walking down the hallway."

Elena poked at Tseng's black suit. "You blend in. Wear some color once in a while, Leader. It won't hurt you." She turned back down the dark hallway, messing with the turquoise jacket she wore over her suit. Tseng watched a moment, before continuing on to where he was meeting Rufus.

Reno had made it to the hallway outside of the break room. He was supposed to be on guard duty for today, the most boring job on the planet. There was no way he'd survive without more coffee. As he approached the door to the break room, he paused. The voices of Rufus and Tseng were in there, as well as the nasally voice that could only belong to Professor Hojo. The door was open a crack, and Reno stood close to listen.

"Sir, this is not the best course of action. If the mental blocks that the, ahem, esteemed Professor put on him do not work as well as they should, then he could, in theory, break from us." Tseng's carefully respectful voice addressed Rufus softly.

"Nothing can go wrong." Hojo's annoyingly unbearable voice said. "I created the blocks myself."

There was the loud sound of a coffeemaker announcing that the coffee was ready, over which Reno barely heard, "Zackary Donovan and Cloud Strife? Yes. Based on what he said, they've done plenty to warrant arrest. Foremost being stealing materia." It was Rufus's voice. "Why shouldn't we test the blocks now? It would be the strongest test we could hope to set them against."

"If they fail, we'll never get another chance." Tseng said. "He would not stand it, nor would the one's he calls his brothers." Rufus made an unconcerned noise, and Tseng sighed. "All right, Sir."

Reno blinked in shock, positive that he had just heard something he shouldn't have. There was only one person they could be discussing. _Sephiroth._ And Zack and Cloud…. Zack had stolen materia? Oh, great flying Bahamuts, all hell was about to break loose. From the bit he'd heard, they were sending a brainwashed Sephiroth after them. Reno turned and ran. There were a few things he had to do. Number one would be figuring out how to stop this. Zack and Cloud weren't the type to give up easily, and if they fought hard enough Shinra would give up on capturing them and order them killed.

Hojo put mental blocks on Sephiroth? Reno had heard of them. They supposedly could make you into a complete slave. Used in combination with truth serum, Sephiroth had probably spilled every one of their secrets. Hojo had probably blocked his memories of Zack and Cloud, possibly Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz as well. All he could remember was Shinra, and serving Shinra. Damn, the company was playing dirty. If Reno knew anything, they would send him as soon as possible. He had to warn Zack and Cloud.

It took a while to get below the plate. Having the men at the Sector 0 lift recognize him did help speed things along, though. He raced through Sector 4, trying to remember which building they stayed in. He finally found it, running up and pounding on the door. Zack came to the door, a baffled Cloud hovering behind him.

"Reno?" Zack said incredulously. "What's the matter?"

"Shinra knows about you and the theft of that materia!" Reno cried, not caring to explain how he found out. "What were you thinking?! They're sending…. Hojo has brainwashed Sephiroth and is sending him after you!"

"What!" Cloud yelped. "He wouldn't hurt us… He's our brother!"

"I don't know." Reno said. "But he's on his way, regardless. Be careful. If you hold him off for long enough, help may come." Reno turned, not wanting to be caught as a traitor to Shinra. "I didn't tell you any of this!" He heard Zack saying something to Cloud as he hurried around the corner. He promised them help. Help! Reno wanted laugh. What kind of help could he offer?

Suddenly he stopped dead. He was standing directly outside of the Sector 0 lift, to take him back to the plate. What he needed was something that could penetrate the mental blocks; something so precious to Sephiroth that he would be able to fight the blocks. The only thing he could think of that would have a stronger affect than Cloud and Zack would be…. His little brothers.

Reno raced onto the lift, wishing it would go up faster. When he reached the plate, he hurried into the science building, running to the bottom floor. Fumbling with the key, he opened the door, slamming it behind him.

Yazoo, Loz, and Kadaj froze, the toys they were trying to hide forgotten. Reno looked absolutely crazy. Yazoo hesitantly stood up and went over to him.

"Reno….? Are you all right?"

Reno stood there, almost shaking. Yazoo hugged him around the waist, worried. Reno had never looked so afraid, and haunted.

"Yazoo…" Reno breathed. "How much do you love your Aniki?"

"More than anything." Yazoo replied immediately. Reno grinned, without humor.

"He's told you about your other brothers, right? Zack and Cloud?" When Kadaj nodded, Reno continued, "You have to save them. They've brainwashed your brother to hurt them, and you're the only ones who could help."

"Nii-san…." Kadaj mumbled. "Nii-sama… Aniki wouldn't hurt them."

"What do we need to do?" Loz asked.

Reno guided them to the Sector 0 lift.

"It's in Sector 4. There's graffiti all over the front of the building, and a giant sheet of plywood over the door." Reno explained. "Just…. Be careful, okay?"

"Thank you, Reno." Yazoo whispered. He looked up into Reno's blue eyes and smiled waveringly. "We'll come back with Aniki, and you can come with us away from Shinra too."

"Sure, Yazoo." Reno said softly. He hugged them all in turn, then watched them as they rode the lift down into the slums. _Be careful, dammit. If anything happens to you guys, your brothers will kill me. If I don't commit suicide first._

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**_I saw them. The two criminals. They were standing by their pathetic excuse for a sofa, the raven-haired one holding a huge sword. There was another law broken. I didn't want to resort to violence, but they were criminals and had to be dealt with._**

_**Then….**_

_**My little brothers, running in and defending the criminals. Calling them 'nii-san' and 'nii-sama'. Calling them brothers. Something cracked, inside my head, like a barrier. I remember them. They all were my family.**_

_**In the short space I was thinking, they had all five escaped. Without thinking, I ordered SOLDIERs after them, but remained. Pictures on the wall, of the two, and me. We had been family.**_

_**Gunshots rang in the distance, and sorrow pierced my heart. Dead. On my orders. I had ordered the SOLDIERs to pursue them. I was a murderer. My family was gone, again, thanks to Shinra. In that moment, the despair almost overcame me. I stared at the sword I held, nothing more than a symbol for destruction, and made to cast it away in shame.**_

_**But her voice stopped me. She spoke to me, in my thoughts, and I believed.**_

_**"Dearest…"the voice said. "Don't do that, now, darling."**_

_**"Who….?" Can you blame me for being confused?**_

_**"You don't know me? I am surprised. I'm your mother, Jenova." My memories, little more than a fog after what Hojo had done, came back in pieces. I remembered, Shinra had killed my mother. Lucre… No, that wasn't right. Another of Hojo's illusions. My mother's name was Jenova.**_

**_I was ecstatic. Very few are privileged to have loved ones able to speak from beyond the Lifestream._**

_**"Don't worry, Sephiroth. Everything will be all right. I will show you the way. Together, we can make a better world. The world your brothers would have wanted."**_

_**"Anything you ask, Mother." I said, standing up with sword in hand. I believed, more surely than I had ever believed in anything. Can I be blamed for clinging to the one bit of family I thought I had left? A mistake is not a crime……**_

VIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVII

Li: I'M ALIVE!!!

Merry Christmas, everybody! I'm just a tad late, so sorry. But I am now in possession of an actual flash drive! I get to update again! Now, just like I promised, there are two more chapters after this!

Aww... I kinda feel bad for what I'm doing to poor Seph. But, it's a fundamental part of the story, so I really have no choice.

Cloud's chapter is next, so expect some major angsting. I think his is the shortest out of the three.

Oh, and don't forget to review! (throws everyone Christmas plushies of Sephiroth in a Santa hat)


	9. Part 2: Cloud

Another Side, Another Story  
Celestial's Last Order

_I'm here without you, baby, but you're still on my lonely mind.  
__I think about you, baby, and I dream about you all the time.  
__I'm here without you, baby, but you're still with me in my dreams,  
__And tonight it's only you and me…_

"_Here Without You" – Three Doors Down_

Part Two: Cloud

"ZACK!"

It was like his world was slowly falling to pieces before his eyes. Cloud watched his best friend, his brother, his anchor in the world fall as the sniper's bullet connected. There was nothing to be done. No time. That didn't stop him from dropping the heavy Buster Sword in his haste and running towards Zack.

_I can make it, we can heal him, he has to be okay……_

"Nii-san!" Kadaj's shriek cut into his thoughts. He whirled, seeing SOLDIERs that had come up the hill from behind while they had been watching Zack. Yazoo grabbed his brother, silver hair swirling around his face as he backed into a tall tree with Kadaj clinging to him. Loz punched a SOLDIER in the face, shattering the visor into the man's eyes. He went down howling in pain. Loz tried to keep the SOLDIERs away from his brothers, but was eventually hit over the head with the end of a gun, knocking him out cold.

Cloud tried to run back to them, but was brought to a halt as his head spun. Damn his fever to the lowest pits of Hell! His vision blurred, and through the haze he saw SOLDIERs pulling Kadaj from Yazoo's grasp. The younger boy screamed and struggled and fought until another man in a medical coat walked up. The man pulled a long needle from his coat, giving the violent child a sedative to make him sleep.

Yazoo's reaction was almost unbelievable. The middle brother raised his voice louder than he had probably ever screamed in his life. A pain-filled shriek rent the air, screaming harshly, "Not again! Not AGAIN!!! We WON'T go back!!!" He tried to pick up the fallen Buster, but its' weight proved too much. SOLDIERs grabbed him, finally subduing the angry teen. Yazoo continued to scream as he was thrown into one of the trucks, one shriek sounding decidedly like, "RENO!"

Cloud swayed, trying to remain upright, but fell to his knees. The last thing he heard was the sound of a helicopter far in the distance, before the world closed in around him and he knew no more.

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Pain. Pain and fear and suffering. What was real? Was there an existence outside pain? He thought there had been, a long time ago. Almost two years and six months…

At least he was no longer in that awful Mako tube. They kept him there for almost two years, experimenting. Needles of Mako, serums, experiments…… and something else.

Cloud thanked all deities up there that they had finally had the heart to put him in a cell, rather than that tube. It had been torture, pure and simple. Cloud finally understood why Sephiroth despised Hojo so much. The man had been tormenting him for two years, and enjoyed every second of it.

The entire time Cloud was imprisoned in the Mako tube, a perpetual mantra ran through his head. _Zack is dead. Must live. Must avenge my big brother._ When he managed to sleep, he had horrific dreams. They started out kindly enough, with him and Zack and Sephiroth just being a family. Even Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz would be there. Then the three youngest would disappear, Sephiroth's eyes would glow green as he stabbed Zack, and Cloud would awaken screaming to another day of endless torment.

But as the days turned to weeks and the weeks to months, the dreams became less clear. The three children were no longer in them, and when he woke, he only remembered an unnamed terror as Sephiroth stabbed his older brother, whose name had faded into the haze of Mako-poisoning. Finally they had faded entirely, leaving Sephiroth and an unnamed shadow to represent his brother, whose only distinguishable feature was his softly glowing violet eyes.

The one thing he was aware of was the people who walked past the cell door. Through the Mako-poisoning, he could tell that there were always four of them. One scientist, another guy, and two teens. He had no idea who they were, but heard them go by once a week, regularly as clockwork. He had begun using it as a sort of calendar, counting the weeks, until he had two years and six months.

It was one day, two weeks since he had made the mark for two years and six months, that it happened. His Mako-poisoning had receded that day. The group was going by as usual, when one stopped. Cloud faintly heard a click, and then the footsteps moved on, a voice calling, "I had to tie my shoe!"

He sat for a long time, wondering what it could mean. Through the Mako-haze in his mind, it occurred to him that it sounded like a lock being opened. He got up, moving to the door and giving it a push.

It swung open into the hall with a light creak. Cloud looked down the dimly lit hallway, illuminated only by the bare lightbulbs dangling from the ceiling. There was no sign of his mysterious savior. Wondering at the good turn his luck had abruptly taken, Cloud stumbled into the hall, only thinking, _Freedom._

He wandered down the hallway, completely lost. He realized that it didn't help if he didn't know the way out. As he passed another door, he pondered going through it or up the stairs. He opted for the stairs, staggering up them and praying no one would find him. The door at the top opened before he reached it, though, and a tall figure blocked the way.

Cloud froze, staring up at the man in horror. Oh, god, he was going to die. The man started down the stairs towards him, and Cloud braced himself. But he only steadied him, helped him stand, and asked, "Are you leaving?"

Cloud blinked up at this person, startled, and nodded. The man nodded once in response, and began helping Cloud up the stairs. Cloud finally got his mouth to work, and mumbled, "Why?"

"Because. You must do what I cannot. I will help anyone out of this living hell that I cannot escape myself."

Cloud closed his eyes against the light as they made it outside. He hadn't seen the sun in two long years, or more. The man looked at him, before asking, "Are you well enough to leave this place?"

"Yes. Where am I?" Cloud managed.

"The Shinra Mansion, in Nibelheim."

Cloud reeled. Nibelheim? But Nibelheim was supposed to be ashes, a black stain on the face of the world. Yet, as he looked down from the top of the hill that the mansion stood on, the town seemed to be functioning as if nothing had happened. "But it burned…"

"Shinra rebuilt it, populated it with actors to make it look like nothing's wrong. They learned their lesson after Coral." the man from the mansion said. "Go. Do not stay in this Shinra trap. Run far away. Midgar, Junon…. Wutai, even. Just disappear, until Shinra ceases to search for you." Cloud nodded. "Then farewell." The man turned in a swirl of crimson; vanishing back into the mansion, and it suddenly occurred to Cloud that he hadn't asked for the man's name.

With a sigh of regret, he started down the hill to begin his long trek back to anywhere other than here. Midgar. The city called to him, like a long-lost memory. It was as good a destination as any.

Five months later, after traveling a long way, through the wild from Nibelheim to Costa del Sol, across the sea to Junon, and far across the way to Midgar. At last, he stood on a hill, staring at the city, feeling inexplicably sad. Something had happened to him here, but he couldn't remember what. But now, after three long years, the city he remembered once calling home beckoned him back again.

**_Home? Is that what this is? It's all so fuzzy. I don't really remember this as my home. Nibelheim, though even those memories are blurry, is where I was born. Where I lived, until the fire. That man said that Shinra rebuilt the town, so no one would realize what had happened._**

**_I can almost see Midgar, in my mind. Parts of the slums. A flash of pink. My oldest brother, Sephiroth, betrayed me here. He killed someone important to me. It hurts, that I can't remember! Why can't I….?_**

_**I'll find him. I'll bring him back, and if I can't, he'll die. He'll die for what he did to me and the person I cared for. But…… I almost don't want to remember. These past three years… The memories are fading. I think it's the Mako. But I don't want to know what happened to me. I don't want to remember the pain of torture or of losing that person. He died for me. I know he did. And I couldn't save him. I don't deserve to remember him, if he cared for me. I let him die. I messed up.**_

_**A mistake is not a crime, right? Or is it all my fault?**_

VIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVII

Li: And so the guy in red shows up again! Anyone want to spare a guess for who it is? (snicker)

One more to go!


	10. Part 3: KYL

Another Side, Another Story  
Celestial's Last Order

_I want to change the world  
Walk again, never miss the way  
Don't be afraid I'm with you  
And we could fly away  
If you could stay with me forever  
Change My Mind  
Won't get lost if your passion's true  
I'm gonna fly with you again  
So you could spread your wings  
And you will fly with me away  
_

_I Want to Change the World- Inuyasha theme_

Part Three: Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo

(Note: This chapter is in all first-person. I think it'll be easier to describe their individual feelings that way, since this is the last time they'll be actually seen until I reach the Advent Children part. So **Bold is Loz**_ Italics is Yazoo, _and Underline is Kadaj. Everybody got it? Okay, on to the siblings' last hurrah, with questions answered!)

_It was strange. We had been having bizarre feelings for three days since Aniki left us. Something was wrong, but even Kadaj couldn't tell what was wrong, and his link was stronger than either Loz's or mine. So it was a fairly ordinary day, the fourth that we hadn't seen Aniki, or Reno either for that manner. Kadaj was humming idly, as Loz played with the paddleball Reno had gotten him._

_"Twenty… Twenty-one… Twenty-two…" Loz muttered absently, focusing on the paddleball completely. I smiled inwardly at that. He was determined to get past fifty, if he had to sit there all day. I glanced over at Kadaj, who was still humming the same haunting tune._

_"What is that, Kadaj?" I ask, knowing I'll get a strange answer. And I was right._

_"A requiem for the near-angels." Kadaj said calmly, letting up on the tune for a mere moment, before resuming humming._

_"What?" I said, hating it when my little brother confused me._

_"Angels that aren't angels." he responded. "Angels with only one wing, but can still fly. Human angels, I guess. A simpler title would probably be "One-Winged Angel"."_

_I blinked. "Kadaj, do you make these things up? The song… The picture of the city…"_

_"Edge." he corrected blithely. "A city on Edge. And no. I see them. I see the city, I hear the song. Don't you, sometimes?" And I didn't want to admit it. Mostly when Kadaj or Aniki were around, but I could hear music from nowhere, or see things that weren't there. I had discussed it with Loz once, and he had laughed, saying that the more girly brothers had gotten the cool power, to which I responded by initiating a pillow fight._

_"So what?" I asked. "It doesn't matter. We all know you hear them best, and see them best."_

_"Loz can't sense them at all, though." he muttered. Suddenly saddened, he looked at me and said, "Does being able to sense this stuff make me weird, Yazoo? Is that why they keep us here; because we're weird?"_

_I blinked. Kadaj had caught me off-guard with the question. "You're not weird, Kadaj." I said, embracing him. He snuggled close with an indefinite noise, and I sighed. "They keep us here to blackmail Aniki."_

_"Yazoo!" Loz cried indignantly. "Don't tell him that!"_

_"It's true!" I retorted, as Kadaj shifted against me. "He deserves to know!"_

**Why would Yazoo tell him such a thing? He's too young. He might be able to sense things we can't, but it's our duty to protect him, not give him more to worry about. He needs to just be a child, just a normal, innocent child. Not one of Shinra's lab rats.**

**But hell! If Yazoo had his way, he'd tell Kadaj everything. How Shinra plans to take him away from us if Aniki doesn't cooperate. It is true. They are using us as blackmail, but Kadaj doesn't need to know that. I don't want him to be scared. If Shinra takes him, they'll experiment on him. That creepy Professor Hojo implied that much. But Yazoo and I would die rather than have our little brother taken away.**

**I raised my paddleball, determined to get to fifty this time. But before I could even toss the ball, running footsteps were heard in the hallway.**

**Yazoo was up in an instant, gracefully scooping up the drawings that Kadaj had been working on and beginning to push them under the mattress. I tossed him my paddleball, which he caught without looking, and went to help.**

_I grabbed Loz's paddleball out of midair, as he hurried over to help me. Kadaj still clung to my waist, shaking faintly. I knew he hated the scientists. Who knew? This running could be guards, under order of the scientists to take Kadaj away._

_The door flew open before we could quite hide it all. But it slammed again almost immediately. I glanced around, automatically holding Kadaj tighter, but it was Reno. He looked scared, worried, and haunted, at the same time. He stood there, back to the door, and just looked at us. I stood, gently unwrapping Kadaj's arms from my ribcage, and walked to Reno. "Reno? Are you all right?"_

_He just looked at me, that same haunted look in his eyes. I hugged him around his waist, wanting… no, NEEDING him to calm down, say something, anything to let me know he was okay._

_His arms hesitantly came up to press me close to him. "Yazoo…" he breathed gaspingly. "How much do you love your Aniki?"_

_"More than anything." I said, right away. Such an obvious question, it didn't require any thought. Reno grinned at me, but without even a scrap of humor in his smile._

_"He's told you about your other brothers, right? Zack and Cloud?" I remember the picture Aniki showed us of Zack-nii-sama and Cloud-nii-san. Out of my periphery, I saw Kadaj nodding in response to Reno's question. The Turk took a deep breath and continued, "You have to save them. They've brainwashed your brother to hurt them, and you're the only ones who could help."_

_"Nii-san…" Kadaj mumbled, walking up behind me. I wrapped my arms around him as he spoke. "Nii-sama… Aniki wouldn't hurt them…"_

_"What do we need to do?" Loz asked._

Wow. Reno brought us out here to the Sector 0 lift and the city's really cool! He says we have to stop Aniki from hurting our other brothers. Yazoo and Loz look worried again. Why can't they enjoy the city view? They're too serious.

"It's in Sector 4. Look for a building with graffiti all over it and a giant piece of plywood over the door." Reno was explaining. "Just, be careful, okay?"

"Thank you, Reno." I hear Yazoo whisper. He tried to smile at the Turk. "We'll come back with Aniki and you can come with us away from Shinra too." Living with Reno would be fun! He's like Aniki, only less serious. I smiled as he hugged me, and then Loz. Yazoo clung to him the longest, just absorbing as much comfort as he could.

"Sure, Yazoo." Reno said, in response to Yazoo's earlier statement. He broke away, and we walked onto the lift.

**I think we're in the wrong sector. This looks wrong, somehow. We just passed a sign that says Sector 6. Uh-oh. This is Wall Market.**

**"Um, Yazoo?" I ventured. "We should get out of here. Wall Market isn't safe." I was worried about Yazoo and Kadaj. Kadaj would probably be fine; he was only eleven. But Yazoo…. Having not been exposed to a mirror in probably a year and a half, I don't think my brother realizes how pretty he is. He insisted on growing his hair long like Aniki's, even though (and I would never tell him this to his face) it makes him look very, very feminine. And he looks older than fourteen too. Having heard Aniki's tales of Wall Market, it's only natural I worry about him.**

**"What, Loz?" He turned, keeping a grip on a very enthusiastic Kadaj's hand. "I don't remember what Aniki said about Wall Market. What was it?"**

**"Uh…" I didn't really want to talk about some of it in front of Kadaj. Aniki had told us those parts while Kadaj was asleep. "Just…."**

**"Hey, babe!" Some random guy called over to us. The comment was obviously directed at Yazoo.**

**"Yaz…" I said warningly, as the obviously drunk man stumbled towards us. Yazoo whirled to face him, pushing Kadaj behind him.**

**"I'm a _guy_." Yazoo snapped. The man blinked, confused. Yazoo sighed, slapped the guy with enough force to send him to the ground, and resumed walking. I blinked at him a moment, wondering how even when he got mad he could seem so girly. No self-respecting guy SLAPPED another guy. They threw a punch, or a kick, or……**

_I am APPALLED. How dare someone mistake me for a goddamned girl! I am a GUY, dammit! I **do not** look like a girl._

_Kadaj is way too happy for the mission we're on. But I can't blame him. I'm curious about the slums too; I just hide it better. I'm glad I made him wear that black cap. We're getting far too many strange looks because of our hair._

_Something dropped onto my head, startling me. I turned, reaching for the hat Loz had put on me._

_"Tuck your hair under it." he said, smiling. "Less strange looks." I did as he said, twisting my long hair into a knot under the hat. It was black; matching the black turtleneck I was wearing to hide the scar on my collarbone. I had gotten that about two months after Shinra had taken us prisoner. In a desperate bid for freedom, I had taken a pair of medical scissors and nearly stabbed some of the personnel in the lab. One of them had gotten a scalpel, and I ended up slashed before they restrained us._

_Aniki asked me about the scar. He was angry when I explained what had happened. I feel sometimes like Aniki would do anything for us. If they hadn't fired that scientist after it happened, I'm sure Aniki would have made him pay. That's why we have to help him now. It's what he would do for us._

Nii-sama and Nii-san's house is cool! There are all kinds of weird drawings all over the front. It looks so different from the pictures I draw or the other pictures I've seen. All big, bold words and sharp, defined lines.

"Yazoo?" I asked, tugging on the sleeve of his black turtleneck. "Yazoo, why is the doorway broken?" A big board that had been covering the door lay shattered on the sidewalk. Yazoo tensed, drawing in a shaky breath.

"We're late." he murmured. Taking my hand and calling to Loz to hurry, he ran up the short stairs and into the house. Aniki was standing there, holding a huge sword and surrounded by SOLDIERs, facing down Nii-san and Nii-sama. Yazoo darted in between them, seeming to be a shield to keep one from the other. Loz and I followed swiftly.

"Aniki!" I cried, scared at the ferocity in his eyes. It was nothing like the way he looked at us.

"Why are you trying to hurt them?" Loz whined. Baby! Crying was not going to help. He can be a wonderful big brother sometimes, but others, he seems younger than me!

"Aniki, that's Zack-nii-sama and Cloud-nii-san. You told us about them. Why would you attack them?" Yazoo knows. Fighting and crying won't help. Yazoo always knows what to say. But Aniki's eyes were cold as he looked at us, and I shivered.

Abruptly, I was grabbed from behind by Nii-sama. He was carrying me away from Aniki! "I want Aniki; put me down!!!" I wailed, flailing, but Nii-sama held me tight and ran with determination. I caught a brief glimpse of Nii-san pulling Yazoo and Loz along behind me. SOLDIERs were chasing us!

_We made it up on top of the plate. Nii-sama knew a way up that Aniki had told him about. He says we have to leave the city!_

_"What about Aniki?" I asked. Nii-sama knelt and hugged me tightly._

_"We're leaving, because your Aniki is very sick, and we have to find a cure. You understand? Don't worry, Cloud and I will take care of you."_

_I nodded. "Okay, Nii-sama. We'll save Aniki together." I trust Nii-sama and Nii-san. Nii-sama grinned at us. There's a pain in my heart. He looks like Reno when he does that. Damn, we promised Reno we'd be careful. Now Nii-sama's running to go talk to some guy in a truck. Why has he got a SOLDIER emblem? It says 'Angeal' on it._

_I hear Kadaj gasp inaudibly beside me, his hand tightening its' grip on my own. "An-ack…" he mumbled, surprised. I reached up, smoothing his hair, and smiled grimly. It can't be too bad, where we're going. Better than Shinra, for sure._

**It's night now. We've been riding in this truck for almost twelve hours. Nii-san says we're going to Kalm. In truth, the truck's only been moving for about four hours. We left the city, and had to wait in an abysmally long line to get extra gasoline for the trip. If Shinra's so amazing, why are they still using gasoline, when it's so scarce? Haven't they figured out a way to use Mako-fuel for trucks yet? They can do it for airships and other army vehicles.**

**Nii-san had fallen asleep first, on Nii-sama's shoulder. He's sick, I think. Yazoo went to sleep on Nii-sama's lap. Kadaj is curled up on me, because he's cold or something.**

**Nii-sama stroked Yazoo's hair, not really paying attention to what he was doing. "I guess we're the designated pillows." He caught me by surprise, and I smiled. Thinking on it, I realized Nii-sama was really worried, for Nii-san because he's sick, and for Aniki because there's something wrong with him. And he's worried for us.**

**"Is Aniki okay?" I asked. I'm scared of the answer, but I have to know. Nii-sama looks unsure for a moment, then smiles.**

**"Yeah, he'll be fine once we figure out how to cure him. Go on and get some sleep, Loz. It's going to be a long trip."**

**_"Hai,_ Nii-sama." I yielded. I shifted Kadaj in my arms and closed my eyes, finally going to sleep.**

We're being shot at! There are SOLDIER's in a truck behind us, and they have rifles!

"Sniper!" Nii-sama yelled. "Duck!" Sniper? Why are they trying to shoot us? We didn't do anything!

I'm scared. I don't wanna die, not without saving Aniki. The scientists told us you go to the Lifestream when you die. But no one can tell us what that's like. I don't understand, so I'm scared.

Nii-sama and Nii-san are leading us up this cliff thing. You can see Midgar from here! Nii-sama's saying something now.

"Cloud, take the children and run. I'll hold them off. Head for Kalm." Nii-san looks scared too. I don't feel bad for being frightened, if he's scared too. Nii-sama's trying to comfort him. Wow, his sword is big! Nii-san could kill a whole army of SOLDIERs with that thing! Does Nii-sama mean to fight all those SOLDIERs alone?

I walked over to Nii-san, who was looking rather lost, and grabbed his hand. He looked at me sadly as I said, "Nii-sama's really brave, isn't he, Nii-san?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, Kadaj. Let's listen to him and head for Kalm."

**Oh, Shiva, Ifrit, Bahamut! Nii-sama…. Oh, god, the SOLDIERs shot him!**

**"ZACK!" Nii-san screamed, sounding like the whole world was crashing down on him. He dropped Nii-sama's sword and started back down the hill. I turned to look at Yazoo, who had tears glittering in his eyes and was murmuring, "No, no one else, please…" I was abruptly jarred from my thoughts as Kadaj shrieked, "Nii-san!!!" Turning at the same moment Nii-san did, I saw SOLDIERs pouring in from behind us. Yazoo grabbed Kadaj, backing into a tree with our littlest brother held close. I spun, punching a SOLDIER who tried to sneak up on me. His plastic visor shattered under the force of the punch, driving shards of plastic into his eyes. He clutched his face and screamed, and I recoiled in horror. I had done that to him! He was going to hurt us, but he was just following orders! But the colder part of my mind insisted that protecting my brothers came first. I continued to hit SOLDIERs left and right, when there were suddenly stars in my vision and a pain in the back of my head. I fell forward, feeling blackness creeping into my vision…**

Loz! The SOLDIERs knocked him out! Let him go!

Nii-san's trying to get to us, but he's holding his head. He's sick! He can't fight like that! Suddenly, there were people grabbing me, all around.

"Ahh, Yazoo!" I cried as SOLDIERs tried to pull me away. They're taking me away from Yazoo and Nii-san! NO! "GET OFF, GET OFF!!!" I screamed, struggling violently. The SOLDIER's kept a firm hold on me though, and a guy dressed like a scientist walked up carrying a needle. No more needles! I fought harder, terrified of the man in the scientist clothing, but the needle finally pricked under my ear. No, I can't sleep now! I have to… help… Yazoo and… Nii-san……

_Loz has been knocked out. They can't take Kadaj too! He's yelling for me to help him, and I can't…_

_Needles! Oh, god, not again! No more, no MORE, dammit!_

_My voice went louder than it's probably ever gone. I'm the quiet one, the unnoticed one. But if you hurt my brothers, I'll fight back. I screamed defiantly at the SOLDIERS. "Not again! Not AGAIN! We WON'T go back!" I scrambled for Nii-san's sword, but it was too heavy to pick up. I won't let them take us again! After Aniki escaped, they tortured us. They thought we would know where Aniki would go. But we didn't. They used truth serum and drugs on us, needles everywhere, and wouldn't stop. If we go back now… They'll ask us about Aniki again, and they won't believe us when we say we don't know! They never do! Kadaj is frightened by anyone who looks remotely like a scientist, and hates needles beyond belief, now, all because of what they did to him! To all three of us! I'd do anything rather than have him face that again._

_SOLDIERs grabbed me, tugging me towards one of their trucks. I flailed, screaming nonsense, but one coherent name escaped my lips._

_"RENO!!!" The only one I could think of. Aniki was gone, Nii-sama was shot, and Nii-san was sick…… Reno got us out once, couldn't he again? As they threw me into their hateful truck, I saw other SOLDIERs capturing Nii-san, and throwing him into a different truck. As they slammed the doors, I continued to bang on them defiantly. Finally, I sat down, resigned to whatever would follow, and pulled Kadaj's sleeping form into my arms. Wrapping one arm around him, I reached out and felt the bump forming on the back of Loz's head._

_Kadaj stirred, pressing closer. Sleepily, he mumbled, "Yazoo… I'm scared… Don't leave me…"_

_I nuzzled his hair softly. "It's all right, Kadaj. I'm here." He sighed, a sound almost conveying contentment, and snuggled close, falling back asleep as the drug they had given him took hold again. I stroked his hair softly. We'd be all right. We were all together, after all._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

It's been two years and six months to the day since we were separated from Nii-san and taken prisoner again. I can hardly believe it. I'm thirteen now. I turn fourteen in another few months. Yazoo turns seventeen after that, and Loz turns eighteen the day after Yazoo. What are the chances that their birthdays end up a day apart?

Every day is the same. We're taken by this one scientist to the lab, where Professor Hojo runs his damned tests. Originally, we were given Mako boosts once a month, but that's stopped so far. Yazoo's become a lot quieter. He doesn't say anything except to me and Loz. I think he's scared that the scientists can use what he says against him. I don't think he wants them to know how badly he hurts.

Loz… He's gotten worse. Two and a half years, and he's still stuck at fifteen. He's seventeen and a half, for Holy's sake, but something's happened to him emotionally. It's like he doesn't want to grow up. He's trying to hold on to the innocence that the scientists took from us. And I… I'm trying to be strong, but it gets harder and harder as days pass.

Nii-san is here too. I remember the first time I saw him, locked in a cell in the passage. I stopped following the scientist, and grabbed onto the tiny barred window in the cell door. Nii-san had looked at me in shock for a moment, then come over and gripped my hands through the bars.

"You're alive." he whispered. "Kadaj, oh Shiva…. Thank Holy you're alive. Are Yazoo and Loz…?" I pointed up the passage, where they still hadn't noticed my absence. The scientists had counted us as innocent children at first, and hadn't been as watchful. Nii-san's voice was urgent, as he said, "Kadaj, please listen. I don't know what they're going to do to me, to any of us, but you have to stay strong for me. Don't forget me, okay? And if I, for some horrible reason, forget you, you have to help me remember. I don't want to lose you three… Not like I've lost Zack and Sephiroth."

I nodded solemnly. "I'll never forget, Nii-san." Little did I know it would one day be a hollow promise. Shortly after he was taken and put in one of the Mako tubes. I couldn't be there to help him remember. Two years passed, and they finally put him back in a cell again. His eyes looked empty, and he stared at me without knowing who I was. That was when I knew. I had to get him out. One day, we were walking like normal, and I slowed, right by Nii-san's door. I reached out and flipped the lock to the open position, and knelt as the scientist turned.

"Kadaj? What are you doing?" he asked, starting back towards me.

"Tying my shoe!" I called to him, standing back up. His name was Kain. I liked him; he was a bit nicer to us than the others. I could only hope Nii-san understood what had happened. We went back to the room we'd been given in the mansion, since Hojo didn't want us kept in cells.

Three hours later, I got my answer. A scientist threw open the door to our little room, and stormed in. Nothing seemed amiss until I felt pain in my arm and side, and found myself lying on the floor with him standing over me.

"You little piece of shit!" he shouted. I knew him. He was one of Hojo's assistants, Edea, and was hoping for promotion if the "experiment" on us, and Nii-san, went well. "Kain told me what happened in the hallway! You let out that blonde-headed idiot!" He hit me hard, with what appeared to be a steel pipe from the lab. I felt it connect with my ribs, and winced in pain.

"Get off of him!" Loz yelled, racing over and pulling the pipe from his hands, holding it like a baseball bat. Yazoo came to me and knelt, putting a tender hand on my ribs to check for damage. He murmured something almost noiselessly, and I nodded. "I'm fine." He helped me to my feet, and watched as Loz chased Edea out of the room, throwing the pipe after him. The door slammed closed, and Yazoo pulled up my shirt to check for damage. A deep purple bruise was spreading over my side, and at least one rib was cracked. Yazoo pulled up his sleeve and took off his glove, revealing a hand that glowed faintly. "Yazoo, what is that?" He ignored me, pressing his palm to the bruise. A warm feeling, like cure materia, spread through my side, and the bruise retreated, the glow fading from Yazoo's hand as well.

"That was cure materia." Yazoo said softly. "We… I think it's because of the Mako they've injected us with, but we can absorb materia, and use its powers. I took that materia from the lab, and was trying to figure out how to hide it, when it just sank into my arm. I was wearing my gloves, so I didn't have to worry about the glow." He looked at his hand thoughtfully. "Fate dictated it was cure I picked up, and not fire or thunder. Otherwise, Edea might have had a bit of a problem. Too bad we can only use it once like this." I blinked. Was that Yazoo attempting to be funny? He said it with a deadly serious face, so I guess not.

Loz sighed. "I hope we don't get in trouble for me chasing him out like that."

"You were defending Kadaj." Yazoo said softly. "I know they probably won't care, but…. Nii-san's out now, so we must endure, until we have the chance to get out ourselves."

"I heard that they want to try some experiment with something called "Jenova cells" next week." Loz said. For some reason, the name made me shudder. I had a bad feeling, like the feelings I got before Aniki turned… evil.

"It doesn't matter." Yazoo murmured, sitting down and drawing me close. I snuggled against him, still liking to be held even though I'm thirteen now. It makes me feel safe and cared-for. And in a place like this, that kind of feeling is scarce. Yazoo ran his fingers through my hair gently, and continued, "We will just have to endure. We're all here, and we're together. There's nothing more we can ask for in this situation."

Really? Nothing? Freedom would be nice. Choices would be nice. A life would be nice! I know that we're stuck here, and I love my brothers, but I'm terrified. I don't know why. I'm terrified of these Jenova cells, and not just because of the needles I'm _sure_ they'll use to administer them. Something's bad, but there's nothing we can do.

Getting captured was a mistake, but setting Nii-san free was not. Mistakes aren't crimes, and neither is doing the right thing. Fight the authority! 

I regret nothing…

VIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVII

Li: I've discovered that writing Kadaj and Yazoo is great fun. Anyone know where I got the names Kain and Edea?

And so concludes Last Order. It's back to Midgar next chapter, which I'm almost done with. I once again apologize for the extreme lateness! Gomen!


	11. Wounds Time Can't Heal

_I, I cry,  
__Never gonna hold the hand of another guy.  
__Too young for him they told her,  
__Waiting for the love of the traveling soldier.  
__Our love will never end,  
__Waiting for the soldier to come back again.  
__Never more to be alone,  
__When the letters say, soldier's coming home._

_Dixie Chicks – Traveling Soldier_

**Chapter Eight: Wounds Time Can't Heal**

Tifa walked with her friend Aerith down the narrow streets of Sector 5. The pair were on their way back to Aerith's church, to tally up the money Aerith had gotten that day. The flower girl was usually content to walk alone, but Tifa had been passing by and insisted on escorting her.

"I don't know how you stand Wall Market on a day-to-day basis." The bartender glanced around at the pristine Sector 5. "It seems way safer here. Don't you ever get frightened?"

"There've been a few times I've gotten worried, but there's always a well-meaning someone to help out." Aerith said, smiling lightly. "I'm fine, really."

"I know, I know!" Tifa said with a laugh. "So how much do you think you made today?"

"Hmm… I'd say around forty gil. Lots of guys wanting flowers for their dates. It is Friday, after all." Aerith smiled to herself, though her eyes were sad. Tifa nodded, understanding, as they reached the door to the abandoned church. "Want to come in for cookies, or something?" Aerith inquired. "I made them this morning, before I left."

Tifa nodded, turning to the door, but stopped when she saw her friend stiffen. "Aerith?" The flower girl was staring off in one direction, eyes focused on a figure standing some distance away.

"That looks like…" she murmured. "Oh, Holy…… Zack!" She started to run forward, but Tifa caught her arm. "Let go of me! Zack!"

"He's not there, Aerith. He's never there." Tifa soothed. "Please Aerith…"

"I saw him!" she sobbed hysterically. "Oh…." Tifa held her as she cried. Aerith had never gotten over the loss of her boyfriend, since the day she'd realized what had happened to him.

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_Aerith was in Sector 5, selling flowers as usual. Two men walked by laughing._

_"Hey, look!" said one. "A flower seller! I'm gonna get Tseng one and tell him to give it to Elena!"_

_He approached Aerith, who was thinking, Who would know the name Tseng? As the man came up to her, she suddenly realized, "Reno!"_

_"Whoa! I know I'm unbelievably irresistible, but…" Reno paused, confused. "Wait a minute, what's your name?"_

_"Aerith." she said guardedly. He flinched, and the man behind him, Rude, looked ashamed._

_"Shit… You're Zack's girl, right?" He shuddered as she nodded._

_"What have you done to him? Where is he?!?" she cried._

_"I didn't do anything, I swear!" Reno said. "I did my best to SAVE him! Your boy was chased by SOLDIERs, and on the outskirts of Midgar, he was shot! I heard it from the commander of the unit. They left him to die, okay?!? There was nothing… nothing I could do…" Aerith let out a pain filled wail. Reno awkwardly pulled her into his arms, and she sobbed into his shoulder. He felt tears begin to escape his own eyes as well. "The worst things… they happen to the best people… Zack was one of a kind. I' m sorry he's gone…" They stood there, the Turk and the flower girl, and cried, mourning for the friend they had lost, who had been taken from them before his time._

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"Reno told me he's gone, but still…" Aerith sniffed unhappily. "He's Zack. He seemed invincible…" Tifa hugged her, trying to hold back her own tears.

"I know… I know…" she tried to say with a steady voice, failing miserably. "He and Cloud… They seemed untouchable. Things got bad around here, and they'd just keep going, unfazed. Right after they vanished… AVALANCHE was the only thing I had to hold on to."

Aerith managed to get the door open, and she and Tifa went into the church. Tifa got out the container of cookies, and Aerith made hot chocolate. They sat without speaking for a long time, each wrapped in their own individual memories. Tifa had lost a close friend, and the only other survivor of the destruction of Nibelheim. Aerith had lost the love of her life, the only guy she'd ever cared for that much.

"Do you know how I met Zack?" she asked softly. Tifa shook her head. "He fell through my ceiling." Aerith pointed to a boarded-up patch of the wooden ceiling. "He was on the top plate, apparently, right after the incident with the original AVALANCHE attacking the Shinra building with their Raven army. He fell off the plate, and landed in my flowers. He was up in like three seconds, blathering something about murdering his friends. I got the whole story later. His friends were SOLDIERs who'd been turned into Ravens, and they couldn't free them. He and Reno had to shoot them."

"That's awful…" Tifa murmured. "Cloud and I lost our entire families and hometown, but… To have to kill your own friends? Terrible…"

They visited a while longer, then Tifa bid her farewell to go back to the small set of abandoned apartments in Sector 4 that AVALANCHE was hiding at. Aerith sighed, looking out the miraculously intact stained-glass window. It had been three years since Cloud and Zack had vanished and never come back. She had never thought they'd be killed. Not in a million years.

Sephiroth had vanished the same day. Tifa had salvaged their eight-times-broken television, and had been watching the upper-plate news. It reported that he had been working for Shinra, but vanished without a trace. Later, Aerith had turned up in tears, having heard the whole story from Reno.

"What a thing to happen…" Aerith whispered to herself. "The last lights are going out. Soon there will be no hope left at all."

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Where was he? Did it even matter? He'd made it to Midgar… Maybe that was all he could do…

"But where am I…?" His voice was weak. Mako was poisoning him from the inside out. It was all he could do to stay upright.

"You? You're in the Train Graveyard, the Sector 7 ruins." The voice came from an abandoned train engine that he now noticed lying nearby. A man covered in soot and dirt crawled out of it, grinning. "You lost, boy? What's your name?"

"Cloud. I'm Cloud." That was his name, right? Too much Mako… "Train Graveyard?"

"Yeah. Shinra didn't bother to rebuild Sector 7. They just throw all their derelict junk in here. Lots of trains that can't run anymore end up in here. I run one of the stations up on the plate."

"You work for Shinra?" Cloud asked; worry prickling the back of his mind. The man shook his head

"Not really. I have no loyalty to them, but I certainly won't fight them. That's for other people."

"You mean you don't care?" Great, the first person he runs into in this city and he's arguing with them.

"Look, boy… Cloud… Whatever the hell your name is." the man said. "When you've been a train man as long as I have, you see a lot of people and a lot of lives. People meeting, parting, joy, sadness... After a while, it doesn't even get to you anymore. I wonder how long it's been... Anyway, there's an invisible rail between me and the passengers. I could never live their lives. No matter if their lives are to die in the slums, leave this city, or fight Shinra. I'm just a train man plain and simple. It's easier that way. That's not to say that the crossing gate of my heart doesn't hurt now and again. But it's not my issue to deal with."

Cloud frowned, frustrated. "Fine. Stay here and die."

"What?" The man laughed out loud. "You gonna go take down the Shinra?"

"Maybe I will." Cloud said quietly. He turned, leaving the man behind.

Cloud climbed around, making his way slowly out of the so-called "Train Graveyard." Stamping through the narrow tunnel, he found he was on the Sector 6 side. As reliable as his memory was, he knew that this was not a safe place to be. He kept his head down as he passed amidst the people strolling through Wall Market. Many people looked his way, thinking he seemed familiar, but unable to remember why. He passed through into Sector 5, pausing to look around.

Cloud let his feet carry him to an abandoned playground near the edge of the sector. He sat on the swings and let himself drift into thought. He was going to die. There was no other thing to think of. The Mako in his blood was eating away at him from the inside. Cloud sighed, noting dully that the only thing he had to be thankful for was that he had not died in the hands of Shinra. He was surprised he had lasted this long, since he had certainly not taken the best care of himself during his six-month trek from Nibelheim.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a blur of pink, as a brown-haired girl climbed up and sat on top of the slide. She scanned the playground aimlessly, before her eyes lighted on him.

"Cloud!!!!!!" she screamed, sliding down quickly and running to him. His vision was blurring, but she looked familiar. She reached him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh, my god, I thought you were dead! What's wrong?" She peered into his eyes, seeing their telltale glow. "You have Mako poisoning? Oh, my god… Come with me, quick."

Cloud allowed himself to be dragged along, hand caught in the girl's vice-grip. His failing memory told him that he knew her, and could trust her. At least that was one thing that made sense in this horrid city.

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Reeve Tuesti hated his office. Damned confining little box. Shinra could afford to give every other high-ranking official a nice office, but not him. All of the computers and things required to run Cait Sith could not be integrated into a normal office, no! He was stuck in this little room in the lab area, surrounded by computers. Thank Holy they'd at least given him a coffee machine, or he'd probably have curled up in the corner and died by now.

His official title was 'Head of Urban Development'. What a load of bullshit that was. He was responsible, single-handedly, for the city of Midgar as everyone knew it right now. Shinra kept him around to make the upper plate nice for all the rich people. Even he could see that. They didn't give a damn about the slums at all. They only considered them festering places for rebellion.

He looked up at his screen, seeing through the stuffed cat's eyes Aerith racing back into the church, another figure being pulled behind her. Reeve's eyes widened. There was no way in hell… Cloud Strife? What on earth? If Reeve remembered correctly the boy had escaped a Shinra facility in Nibelheim with severe Mako poisoning. The scientists there had written him off as dead, believing he would never be able to survive for long. And yet, here he was.

"Cait!" Aerith cried. Reeve seized the controls of his toy and leaned over to the microphone.

"What is it, Aeri?" he asked, fighting to keep from laughing despite the dire situation as the Scottish accent of his robot filtered through the screen.

"Cait, get me the box that Tseng brought me that one time. Remember? The one with the picture of the healing staff on it."

Reeve knew what she was taking about. About two years ago, the Sector 5 reactor had malfunctioned, and rained Mako down into Sector 5. Many people had gotten mild Mako poisoning. Tseng, who still remained Aerith's friend, had brought her a very generous supply of anti-Mako curative. She treated the people, and there was still plenty left. He tumbled into the kitchen, retrieving the box from its' cabinet under the sink and bringing it back.

Aerith took it from him, opening the lid and removing the hypodermic needle and a vial of purple solution. She filled the needle all the way and turned towards Cloud. The boy's eyes, which had been empty up to this point, filled with fear.

"No!" He flinched away from the needle, sliding away to the point that he fell off the bench and landed in the flowers. "Not again… Not again…"

"Cloud… Cloud, please…" Aerith said, getting up and following him. "I know, I know…" Whatever had happened to him, he was terrified of needles now. She forced him to look up at her, staring into his faintly glowing eyes. "Cloud, everything's okay. You're safe now." She skillfully stuck him with the needle when he wasn't looking. He yelped, but Aerith got the medicine into his arm. His eyes cleared a bit, and he looked at her with recognition.

"Aerith…?" Aerith smiled and nodded. Cloud blinked once, and then pitched backwards, abruptly falling asleep in the middle of her flower garden. She laughed softly, going and getting a blanket and putting it over him.

"He'll be okay, don't you think, Cait?" she said happily.

Reeve had watched the whole thing in amazement. He and Tseng were the only ones who truly understood how special this girl was, and not just because she was an Ancient. In all of Midgar, there was no one else like her.

"Yeah, Aeri. He'll be fine."

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Reno sighed, a margarita in one hand and the television remote in the other. He was at him and Rude's apartment, moping, for lack of a better word. For three years, nothing had been the same. There was no Seventh Heaven to get drunk at anymore. Tifa would gladly accept his company sometimes, but the rest of AVALANCHE certainly didn't trust him. And his friend was gone. Zack had been shot outside of Midgar. Reno kept telling himself there was nothing he could have done, yet he still felt guilty, like he could have done more.

There was a knock on the door, and Reno dropped the remote onto the cushion beside him in frustration. "Rude, you have a damned key!" The knock came again, and Reno set his margarita down with a growl. He stormed to the door, throwing it open and revealing a girl wearing a SOLDIER uniform standing there. The insignia on her shoulder noted that she was only Fifth Class.

"A-ah… Umm… Mr. Reno…?" she stammered. Reno's expression softened.

"Yeah. That's me." He smiled, trying to get her to be less nervous. "Who are you?"

"Umm… SOLDIER Fifth Class. Ariome Larine. You can call me Momi." She looked at her feet.

"All right then, Miss Momi." he drawled, smirking. "What can I do for you?"

"Ahh… My commander asked me to come and get this signed."

"What is it?"

"Some kind of medical thingy. He wanted you to sign it. It says any high-ranked Shinra member can, but he wanted you for some reason." Momi said.

"Oh, all right." Reno scrawled off a messy, but still recognizable signature on the form. One thing caught his eyes as he did. "Oh, Commander Loire. Yeah, I think he believes I'm the most forgiving out of all the high-ups. You're part of that weird unit that's mostly girls, right?"

"Yessir. If you'll excuse me, sir, I'll take this back to Commander now." Momi said quickly. Reno nodded, and she scurried away down the hallway. He laughed to himself as he closed the door. He had heard of the little SOLDIER platoon that was a strange mix, having more girls than guys in it. The commander was still a guy, but it seemed Shinra had thrown all of the girl recruits into one squad.

Today was certainly interesting. First Rufus insists on a vacation to Costa del Sol, no warning, with Tseng and Elena accompanying as guards, naturally. Then Rude acts all weird and leaves for forever and a day. Now a little SOLDIER girl wants him to sign some random medical form. Meteor and Holy, the only thing Reno needed now was a dead friend to come back to life and his freaky day would be complete.

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After Cloud had woken up, Aerith promptly had begun questioning him. Namely, what had happened to Zack, if he had survived?

"Cloud, please… I need to know… Zack… Is he still alive?" Aerith asked. Hope lit her emerald eyes.

Cloud stared at her blankly. "Who?"

Aerith's eyes widened. "Zackary Donovan. Your _brother_. He was with you when you vanished."

"Never heard of him. My only brother is Sephiroth, and he betrayed me." Cloud said. Aerith reeled back in horror. Something was wrong. The Mako must have affected his memories. Nothing else could be responsible for him just forgetting Zack.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Cloud nodded. Aerith put a hand to her forehead. "Oh, my… What did they do to you, Cloud?"

This question, he refused to answer. Aerith recognized the stubborn look on his face. It was a look that said, _There's no way you're going to get me to talk._ Aerith sighed, standing up from her position seated on the bench. "Come on, Cloud. I think we need to go pay Tifa and AVALANCHE a visit."

"Tifa? Oh, yeah, is she okay?" He stood as well, following her to the door. "And Barrett, and Jessie, and Biggs, and Wedge, and Marlene…?"

Aerith wanted more than anything to cry in that moment. Why could he remember everyone else, and not Zack or that terrible day three years ago? Why wouldn't he talk about what happened to him at Shinra? Hopefully Tifa could help her get some answers out of the stubborn blonde. She walked off towards Sector 4, Cloud following behind, to find AVALANCHE and hopefully get some answers.

VIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVIIVII

Li: I love Reeve. Can you tell? God, this chapter was an angst-fest. I guess it's the best I can do, since I shot Zack and made Seph insane. People would obviously be miserable, huh?

Now the game storyline actually kicks in, so get ready for a ride. I had a strange idea, so expect the unexpected, everybody! Until next chapter!

Oh yeah, remember to review! I know more people read this than just one! Thanks to Just Jill for actually showing that she cares!


	12. Shattered Mirror

**Chapter 9: Shattered Mirror**

Aerith led Cloud through Sector 4's twisting streets, following a path she knew well. After the fall of the Sector 7 plate, Tifa and Barrett, with Marlene, had taken up residence in some abandoned apartments in this sector. She glanced back at Cloud, seeing him looking around, re-familiarizing himself with everything.

"You know, this used to be eight separate towns." she said quietly. "The plate and the Sector 0 lift and train tracks used to be the only 'real' city of Midgar. A floating city, quite literally, since it was all on the plate. But after a while, the city just kind of assimilated all the towns. The names were forgotten, and just became numbered sectors, and this became the biggest city on the Planet."

"I didn't know that." Cloud said softly. Aerith forced herself to smile. If he couldn't remember Zack, then she didn't want to confuse him. She wouldn't try to explain it all now. Maybe being with Tifa, and seeing that Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge were gone for real, could bring back enough of his memory for her to try and explain the one thing she kept trying to forget.

Also, she was hoping Tifa could coax out of him exactly what had been done to him by Shinra, and how he had come to have Mako poisoning. The blonde boy stubbornly closed up every time she mentioned it. Maybe he had forgotten, or maybe it had traumatized him so much he couldn't bear to talk about it.

When they reached the dilapidated apartment building that hid the members of AVALANCHE, Cloud blinked at it in recognition. It towered above them, five floors high, but Cloud could see above it dangling wires that attached to the plate.

"Where are the platforms?" he asked Aerith. She gave him an odd look, and he tried to explain more concisely. "There were platforms, suspended below the plate. They led to a little trapdoor. Sephiroth told us about them. We used them to run from Shinra, before I was captured…"

Aerith gaped at him. "We?" she asked breathlessly. "Us? Who's 'us', Cloud?" Maybe he remembered! Cloud looked puzzled, reaching up to clutch at his head.

"Us…? Why did I say that? Who…?" His fingered tangled in his hair, pulling harshly on the golden spikes. "There was someone else… Me and Sephiroth and… Uhg!" He gripped his hair tightly, crying out as if in pain. Aerith was afraid to touch him, unsure what was happening to her friend. Finally he straightened. "Aerith."

Her voice trembled as she responded, "What, Cloud?"

He offered a small smile. "There wasn't an 'us'. It was only me. I misspoke. Sorry." He looked back up at the building, taking in the lost platforms, as Aerith reeled behind him. He'd been so close! But what _was_ that? Some kind of fit? Something wasn't right with Cloud. She'd seen the effect of Shinra mind blocks before, when they had tried to brainwash her real mother as a child. This was worse than anything they had the capabilities to do. Something was keeping his memory away, but it would be impossible to determine what until she'd been around him longer.

"C'mon, Cloud. Let's go see Tifa and Barrett." Aerith said, attempting to distract him. Maybe if a strong enough trigger was put before him, he could break this block just like any other.

"Sure." He tore his gaze away from the missing platforms, following Aerith into the remains of the building.

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Reeve stared at the computer screen in wonderment. He had followed them, as Cait Sith. They had led Shinra right to AVALANCHE, without even knowing it. But Reeve would never tell. He didn't want any more of his city blown up, and he flatly refused to break Aerith's heart like that. What intrigued him more was the bizarre seizure Cloud seemed to have experienced. It wasn't caused by Mako, he was certain. What had Hojo done to him these past three years?

"You know who he is, Aerith. You and the Lockhart girl both hold the keys to his past. You have to help him." he murmured, looking at the screen as he watched them enter the building. "If he's made it this far to survive, he needs to remember everything." Reeve already felt horrible about the whole thing. No one else understood. They didn't have to sit with young flower girl as the weeks went by, telling her everything was okay and that her boyfriend would be back soon. Telling her things would work out for the best when he already knew that the boy was dead. Sitting through the endless tears and dismal silences after she discovered her love's true fate. He had to hand it to Reno, though. The Turk knew how to comfort her better than his stuffed animal self could. Reno had known almost immediately after it occurred, and had ridden a motorcycle out there to look for Zack's body, saying that he deserved a proper funeral. The Lifestream didn't always come right away to take back its' dead. But when the redhead arrived at the sight, his body was gone. Reeve had never seen the happy-go-lucky Turk that somber before, and never wanted to again.

"This is turning into the biggest nightmare anyone has ever seen, and the bad part is, we can't wake up. If the Planet's Chosen can't finish what's been started…" He trailed off his thought, glancing at the book of Cetran mythology on his desk. It had been a present from some of the nicer scientists who knew his love of knowledge, Professor Christopher Gast and Professor Grimore Valentine. He looked back at the screen, finishing dismally, "…Everything will die."

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"CLOUD!!!"

Tifa had thrown herself across the room, latching onto Cloud and refusing to release him. The sight of her childhood friend had driven the once-bartender to tears. Cloud squirmed in her grip, trying to get free.

"Tifa… I can't breathe…" he gasped out, pushing her back. "It's okay. Really."

"You dumbass! Where the hell have you been for three years?" Barrett roared. His daughter was asleep back in the other apartment, so he unleashed the extent of his colorful vocabulary on the unsuspecting warrior. "Do you know all the shit we went through, not knowing where you and your happy-go-insane shitheaded brother went?!?"

"Huh?" Cloud said. Aerith saw the confusion swirling in his glowing eyes. She could only hope… Barrett didn't realize that Cloud had forgotten Zack. Maybe his coarse reminder could get through to him.

"You. Were. Gone." Barrett said slowly, enunciating each word. "Do you know how hard it is for a man to cope with two crying females every day for _weeks_?"

"I'm sorry." Cloud said softly. He looked at Aerith and Tifa, seeing the tears in Tifa's eyes and the worry in Aerith's. "It wasn't my fault."

"What happened to you, Cloud?" Tifa asked. Cloud winced, reaching up to clutch his hair again. Aerith was at his side in an instant, wrapping her slim arms around his frame as he started to shake.

"Cloud, it's okay, please. We just want to know what happened." she whispered, unconsciously releasing some of her Cetran powers to calm her shaking friend. He gasped something out, almost incoherent.

"Pain… Stop… Stop… phiros… Stop… Please… Jen… Jeno… Ahhhhh!!!!" Cloud let out a pain-filled scream, and Aerith suddenly felt it. The faint presence of another consciousness holding back his memory. She lashed at it with the Planet's power, and felt it withdraw slightly. Cloud crumpled, landing on his knees, staring emptily at the floor.

"What was that?" Tifa said into the silence.

Aerith looked up at her. "There is something that's been done to Cloud, it's holding his memory back." She whispered the words softly, so Cloud couldn't hear. "He doesn't remember much of anything up until his capture. He can't remember Zack, and whatever is holding his memories won't let those go. But I don't know how to free him from its' grip. I don't even know what it is at the moment. But I will find out… because I have to know what happened to them."

They were both distracted by Cloud looking up. "Tifa? I know what happened to me. They tortured me, Tifa. They locked me up for a long time, and finally put me in a Mako tube. Hojo spent two and a half years tormenting me: serums, drugs, experiments… Things I don't even know what they were. When it was all over, he locked me back in a cell. It got unlocked, I don't know how, and a man in red helped me out. I was in Nibelheim, Tifa. Nibelheim!" Tears spilled from his eyes. "The nightmare never ends, does it? That place, the site of all my nightmares, everything I hate…" He slammed his fist into the floor. "Shinra took everything from me, tortured me, twisted my big brother until he went insane… He's probably dead. Shinra probably killed him too, seeing as he 'betrayed' them, even though his loyalty never lay with them in the first place…" He trailed off, then, "Biggs, Jessie, Wedge, Sephiroth, Aerith's mother… Nibelheim, Corel, Wutai, the whole damn Planet… Shinra kills everyone, ruins everything, anyone or anything I care about!"

"Cloud…" Tifa whispered. "It's okay. You still have us. Please. Nothing can bring them back, I know, but we have to keep living. Live it up to see Shinra's fall. That's what Barrett says."

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Reeve had watched the entire scene in awe. Something was definitely wrong with the boy. But the strength of his friends was going to get him through this. He made Cait follow them, safely out of sight. All of AVALANCHE was on its way back to the church, and Reeve wanted to get back without raising suspicion.

The door to his office opened, leaving the man standing in the doorway with a clear view of Reeve's large computer screen, showing the remaining members of AVALANCHE and a runaway experiment walking free. Reeve's mouth dropped open, his mind saying only, _Shit._ Heidegger and Scarlet. As Heidegger shifted, Reeve could also see Palmer standing behind.

"Hey, Reeve! Rufus wants us at a board meeting!" Palmer called.

Scarlet strode into the room, pausing to look up at the screen. "Kya-ha-ha! Good job, Reeve! You located AVALANCHE! Rufus will be pleased to hear about this."

Reeve winced, hiding it expertly from Scarlet. Funny how he utterly despised his fellow Shinra executives. Rufus was fond of controlling through fear; Scarlet, Heidegger, and Palmer served him without question; and Hojo was just… Creepy. And unbearable. But he had to put on his mask and hide his hate every day.

He did it for Aerith, he knew. If he didn't watch her, Shinra would have captured her by force long ago. Reeve and the Turks had their unspoken agreement. They would work together, because even though the Turks served Rufus unquestioningly, they weren't always happy with his decisions. Tseng understood: keep Aerith safe from Hojo.

He got up dully and followed the others towards the board room. Something was going to go horribly wrong, he knew.

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They walked slowly towards the front of the church. As they passed into the tall building, Tifa couldn't help but glance at the three stones standing by the flower garden in memorial for their fallen. They sat around Aerith's kitchen, eating fresh-baked cookies and pretending nothing was wrong. But the feeling of sheer_ wrongness_ continued to grow, until finally Barrett said loudly, "What the hell is everyone so miserable for!?!"

"The Planet is dying, Barrett. Shinra is killing it." Tifa said. "And there's nothing we can do. I hate it. Shinra, SOLDIER, Mako reactors… I hate it, I hate all of it!"

Aerith was silent, listening as the song of the Planet pulsed in the back of her mind. It tried to tell her that everything was all right. But she knew, as sure as she knew that the cookies she carried were delicious, the Planet was silently in pain. Suddenly it flared brightly, causing her to stumble as she walked back to the table with more cookies.

"Aerith? What's wrong?" Cloud asked.

"Something's… coming…" Aerith whispered. The Planet couldn't be very specific with its' warnings, but she could tell, it was something bad. As if on cue, the doors at the far end of the church flew open, and Tseng, Reno, Rude, and Elena stood there, looking none too happy, but resolute.

"Tseng?" Aerith asked, looking out the doorway of the small kitchen. The four Turks walked slowly the length of the church, stopping just a few feet from the door.

Tseng fixed her with a steady gaze. "Aerith, I'm so sorry." he said quietly. Rude, Reno, and Elena stepped out to fix guns on the other three, but Reno froze at the sight of Cloud.

"Leader!" he said, but Tseng shook his head, and Reno cursed. "Shit. No, no, no…" Tseng took a step forward, extending his hand.

"Aerith." Just her name, but it carried a command behind it that she couldn't ignore. She took an involuntary step forward, placing her hand in Tseng's.

"Why?" she whispered to him, betrayal flickering in her emerald-ocean eyes.

"Aerith!" Tifa cried, trying to reach her, but the gun Reno aimed at her held her back. "What are you going to do with her?" Nothing moved in the stillness, as Tseng just stared at her. Rude shifted uncomfortably, and even Elena looked abashed. Reno was off in his own little world, trying to comprehend the spiky-blonde young man standing in front of him.

Finally, Tseng spoke. "We're not going to hurt her." he said softly, doing his absolute best to be reassuring despite the situation. "She is the last living Ancient. Shinra would never let anything happen to her."

Cloud, at the mention of Shinra, suddenly burst out in a voice full of hate, "Yeah, nothing but whatever torture and experiments Hojo wants to inflict on her!" He roughly pushed his way forward. Elena hesitated, her finger hovering over the trigger of her gun, but Cloud just stopped in front of Tseng and continued hatefully, "Do you _know_ what that madman does to people?"

The flowers rustled uneasily. Tseng stared him down for a brief moment before turning to his Turks and ordering, "Stand down." They immediately put away their guns and shifted to stand in a triangle behind their Leader, following him as he led Aerith to the door.

"Hey!" Cloud hollered, starting forward. But the single sound of a shot rang through the small church, and a bullet pierced the wooden boards right by Cloud's foot. He looked up into the sunglasses that kept Rude's eyes hidden at all times, and without seeing his eyes, knew that the expression he wore said, _Next time I won't be lenient._ He watched them leave; taking one of the only people he could remember in this hated city with them.

"No!" Tifa cried. She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face in crooked trails. "Dammit, why? Why her?" It was a moot point now, they all knew, and only the silence of the old church answered her. Suddenly, its' crumbling columns and patched ceiling were no longer charming and homely. With the flower girl gone, it was like the light had been taken as well, making the place seem empty and miserable.

"We'll get her back." Cloud said firmly. "We have to."

"Damn straight!" Barrett cried.

Tifa glanced at Cloud. "We'll take Marlene to Aerith's mother, Elmyra. We've met her a few times. She'll watch out for Marlene while we go save Aerith. Meet you back here in an hour?"

Cloud nodded, watching his two friends head back in the direction of Sector 4, and sighed. Shinra had gone too far. This was it. No more.

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Tseng led Aerith down the hallway of the Shinra building. She squinted into the semi-darkness, frightened by the lack of windows, the lack of light, the lack of _life_. Tseng squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It'll be all right." he said.

Aerith looked at him with frightened eyes. "Hojo really does torture people… doesn't he?"

"I won't let him touch you." Tseng said, his eyes hard at the thought of the mad scientist. Hojo went beyond ethics; he was to the point of renouncing human rights all together. To him, people were just test subjects waiting to be experimented on.

A man with dark hair was coming down the hallway, a cup of coffee clutched in one hand. His eyes widened as he saw the two, and he nearly dropped his coffee. Tseng almost smirked, going over to him.

"My friend, would you mind terribly _keeping an eye on her_, while I go talk to Rufus? Oh, and don't tell her anything _important_." Tseng swept away down the hall with grace descended from his Wutainese heritage. Aerith was left to stare at the man, who stared back in surprise before bowing slightly.

"You must be Aerith Gainsborough." he said quietly, with a measure of sadness to his voice. "I am Reeve Tuesti. A pleasure to meet you."

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Li: It's nice to feel loved. I'm happy to know people are reading this, even if they don't review. I can't FORCE you to review...

Anybody pick up on what Cloud was wailing about during his little emotional fit? Just a piece of a word, but it's very important. Aerith knows something's wrong with him.

When I wrote out my original rough draft, I completely skipped the Shinra building. So until it's over with, I have no outline to go by. Note to self: make timeline.

I heart Reeve! He is amazing. Not as amazing as Zack. (sniff) But pretty darn amazing.

That's all for now! Please review, people? (puppy dog eyes) I'll give you a Zack plushie!


	13. ThankYous and Phone Calls

Dear Readers,

Today is a very special day for me. Today, February 7, 2007, marks exactly one year since I got my account on this website, and I just want to say a giant thank-you to everyone out there who helped me get this far.

You all have no idea how much it means to me to know that people actually read and enjoy my stories. Just Jill, thank you for reviewing every chapter, because that really feels good to know that someone cares about and likes the story enough to review. And all of you people who read and don't review, I love you too, because at least you're reading it. And if you keep reading it, I know that you enjoy it. At least, I hope so.

Oh, and a big thank you to Wends, who writes excellent Kingdom Hearts fanfiction and takes the time to sigh over the wonderfulness of Final Fantasy with me. Go read her story _Behind Closed Doors_. It's amazing! Thank you, Wends!

Well, I have soooo many ideas for where Celestial is heading, so I'll be around for a long time to come. Plushies of Zack to whoever bothered to read this whole thing, and as a gift to you, an important phone call that holds some key foreshadowing for the future. Introducing one of my minorly important OCs, and setting up for a major plot point! Enjoy!

Li

P.S. You'll never guess who she's on the phone with! But it is important! I promise! And I stole her name from a Final Fantasy past. Know which one?

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The helicopter's blades whirled insistently as the young woman climbed into the pilot's seat.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you! Get a grip!" She may have been considered crazy for talking to her vehicle, but her and that helicopter had been through hell and high water together, so most who knew her excused her behavior.

This young woman was a mercenary, working for various employers all over the Planet. Any types of jobs were open to her; the only thing she wouldn't do was take on the Turks. It wasn't that she feared them or couldn't handle them, she just had a very personal reason not to.

She set her helicopter down just outside of Rocket Town, planning to stop and replenish her supplies, maybe grab a real bed at an inn for once. It was too late in the day to fly back to Wutai. She had a house there, but she only spent her time at it if she wasn't on the job. Tonight, she'd probably stay in Rocket Town. Her most recent job was complete, and she could relax before going to collect her reward.

Her phone rang suddenly, startling her with its' glaring loud music. Her ringtone always reminded her of battles, for some reason. She flipped the phone open, putting it to her ear with a sigh.

"Rydia Caramon, mercenary extraordinaire. No job is too…" She trailed off, beginning to smile as she heard the voice on the other end. "Hello, cousin. How are you?" She listened for a long moment, holding the phone away from her ear at the torrent of shouting pouring from the tiny speakers. "Whoa, you're kidding! No way! I thought he… Well, maybe not dead, but… At least, just gone…" Another torrent of shouting. "Gods bless it, just chill out! You have to put up with those assholes because they _pay_ you. Do you want to turn down a job and go back to the way things were? I know you want to quit, more than anything, cousin dearest, but that's not the type of job where you just hand in a resignation."

This time the shouting was audible clearly with the phone held far away from her ear. "You think I don't know that?!?" the voice on the other end howled. "But this is just… It's too much!"

Rydia brushed her flaming hair from her face, putting the phone back to her ear. "Please, just a little longer. Just until we find a decent way for you to get out." She listened to his response, then smiled. "Okay. Yeah. Talk to you soon. Bye." She hung up the phone, a frown gracing her features. She worried for her cousin. He had a dangerous job, but it would be more dangerous to leave now. They had to wait for the right time, or everything would be for nothing. She turned to Rocket Town's borders, wondering how much longer they'd have to wait before everything fell apart.


	14. Storming Shinra

**Chapter 10: Storming Shinra**

**Part 1: Executive Orders**

"Have to save her… all costs…"

"Cloud…"

"Can't let… Hojo…"

"Cloud…!"

"Must… reach…"

"SPIKY!"

Barrett's loud bellowing finally made it through Cloud's obvious focus. Barrett felt himself wondering if the kid had obsessive-compulsive disorder. It sure as hell seemed like it sometimes. Since he and Tifa had gotten back from taking Marlene to stay with Aerith's mother, (Elmyra had been happy to help out. She wanted her daughter back, after all.) Cloud had been intensely focused on just getting Aerith back. It was maddening.

"What, Barrett?" he asked.

Barrett glared. "Have you even thought about how we're going to get up to the damn plate? We can't just waltz up to the Sector 0 lift and go 'Yeah, we're here to get our kidnapped friend back from your dumbass Turks', now can we?"

"What do we do then?" Cloud snapped back. "God only knows what Hojo is cooking up in his sick, demented mind right now."

"Guys!" Tifa cried. "Fighting won't help this. I promise you, Cloud, we'll find a way to get her back, but we have to stop and think."

Cloud looked at the ground. Aerith seemed to _know_, without him even telling her, exactly what he had been through. She seemed almost to have suffered just as much as he. She understood him. Tifa knew part of it, but the whole extent of what he had been through over the course of his life was known only to him.

"Hojo's after her because she's a Cetra, an Ancient." Tifa said. "She speaks with the Planet. Shinra thinks she can find the Promised Land for them." Cloud remembered that. Aerith was special, half-Cetra. And the Promised Land was supposedly a land of supreme happiness. Cloud couldn't remember who exactly had told him this information, though. Maybe it had been Aerith herself.

Without a word, he began to walk back into the building. Ignoring Barrett's yells, he went up to the roof. Tifa convinced Barrett to follow him, saying that Cloud knew Sector 4 better than they ever could. They reached the roof, finding their friend staring up at many dangling wires hanging from the plate.

"What the hell is that?" Barrett demanded.

"There used to be platforms here." Cloud said. "They could be used to get up to a trapdoor in the plate. They're not here anymore."

"Well, what's this?" Tifa pointed at a thin piece of golden wire, just wide enough to grab hold of, with handholds at intervals all the way up. Cloud looked at it in puzzlement.

"I don't know. It wasn't there before." he said.

"Who cares?" Barrett wanted to know. "It looks to me like a golden shiny wire of hope. It's here to help us get to the plate. Why question it?"

Cloud nodded. If this was fate, maybe fate wasn't so cruel after all.

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Aerith looked around the small office, watching the man across from her uneasily. Reeve seemed kind enough, but after what she'd learned about Tseng, things in Shinra were not always what they appeared. Reeve sipped his coffee, seeming unnerved as well.

"What does Shinra want with me?" Aerith asked softly. Reeve glanced up, then stared back down into his coffee cup.

"You are an Ancient. They believe you can help them find the Promised Land." Reeve replied quietly. He glanced at his bookshelf, where the book of Cetran mythology rested. "If you don't, they'll end up leading us to hell by accident."

"You can't mean that!" Aerith cried. "You don't understand! The Promised Land is not a physical place!"

"I know." Reeve said sadly. "But the President refuses to believe that."

Aerith gave him an odd look. This dark-haired executive was different than the others. "Who are you, Mr. Tuesti?"

Reeve smiled wryly. "I am as you see me. Reeve Tuesti, Head of Shinra's Urban Development department, and the architect of Midgar." Almost inaudible, he added, "And someone who would like to help you."

Aerith stared at him. "You designed this horrible place?" She could barely contain the horror in her voice. "Do you know what it's like in the slums? Do you? People die down there, because there's no money, no food, no hope…"

"Aerith…" Reeve said slowly, trying to find the right words. "I didn't intend it to be like this. When I designed Midgar, it was the plate that I took into account. I couldn't imagine there being people actually living under the plate. I didn't take into account Shinra assimilating the smaller towns." He stared into his coffee. "Midgar was supposed to be a dream city, a shining triumph… And instead it's a blight on the surface of the Planet."

He was telling the truth, that much for sure. Aerith felt the Planet chorus in the back of her head that this man, this Shinra executive, did not lie to her. He was genuinely regretful for the state of Midgar, and the whole Planet, for that matter.

She was preparing to ask him if he knew what Shinra was doing, to any extent, when the door opened. Tseng stood there, looking mildly displeased. Reeve was obviously familiar with the look, because he immediately stood and said, "Well, we did kidnap her. The least I could do was let her have a seat and a decent conversation."

"Reeve…" Tseng sighed, shaking his head.

"Tseng, it's not like I told her anything." Reeve sighed as well, both equally frustrated with each other. Tseng finally gave up, coming over and offering a hand to Aerith. She stood reluctantly.

Tseng smiled as she took his hand, but Aerith didn't return the gesture. Instead, she looked back at Reeve. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Tuesti."

"A pleasure to meet you as well." Reeve watched them leave, thinking to himself, _I'm glad you got to know me. The real me. Not that silly toy I have to hide behind all the time. Even if you don't know the connection… I'm glad._

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

It had taken a while, with only a shiny golden wire to climb, to actually reach the plate, but it was well worth it when Cloud finally pushed open the trapdoor and they emerged onto Shinra grounds. The sun was setting somewhere in the distance, and most of the employees would be off getting dinner. The entire complex was still and dim in the twilight gloom.

We need to find Hojo's lab." Cloud said. "That's where she'll be." He led them to the main building. The receptionist was sitting calmly at her desk. Cloud grinned, flashing a look at the other two that said, _Be silent._ He walked up, leaning on the desk, and said politely, "Excuse me, but we're here to see Professor Hojo. Where is he?"

The receptionist continued typing. "Do you have an appointment?"

"We don't, but I think the professor would be _very_ pleased to see us."

She finally looked up. "I'm sorry, but…" Cloud made a sad face, complete with big, innocent, puppy-dog eyes. Tifa had to work hard to contain her giggles. That was how her friend had won over her, Zack, Sephiroth, and many others on so many occasions. No one could resist his 'sad face'. This receptionist was no exception. She swallowed, saying reluctantly, "Well, I suppose this once…"

Cloud smiled. "Thanks so much. May I ask where he is?"

"In his lab. 68th floor."

"Thank you." Cloud walked towards the elevator, closely followed by Tifa and Barrett. Once they were safely inside, he burst out laughing. "It's a good thing that the average employees can't recognize us on sight!"

"That was brilliant, Cloud!" Tifa laughed. "You did that face; I thought she was going to crumple under the sheer force of it!"

They all shared a laugh, marveling at just how easy it had been to sneak into Shinra's main building, as the elevator carried them higher and higher, towards Aerith and rescue.

The receptionist leaned back in her chair, pulling off the red wig she was wearing. Blonde hair tumbled down around her ears as she reached for her phone.

"Tseng was right. They are trying to save her." Elena, for it was indeed her, pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "Tseng? You were right. You're about to have some company on floor sixty-eight."

Tseng's voice filtered back. "Thank you, Elena. Good job. I'll take care of it from here." Elena smiled, leaning forward to rest her head on the desk. It had been a long day. But soon, AVALANCHE would be no more, and they would have much less to worry about.

The elevator rumbled to a stop, but as they looked at the counter, it was only up to the fifty-second floor.

"What the…?" Tifa said. The doors slid open with a ding, revealing Rude standing there, armed with a gun and looking deadly serious. He stepped into the elevator, pointing his gun at Cloud. "Would you kindly press 'up'?"

Cloud complied, and as the elevator started moving again, he stepped back to stand beside Tifa. "The Turks… It's a trap…" They reached floor sixty-nine, and none were surprised to find Tseng waiting. He too held a gun, and raised an eyebrow at their small group.

"What did you hope to accomplish, the three of you against the Turks and all of this building? Not to mention the SOLDIERs, the military grunts… You were hopelessly outnumbered." he marveled.

Nodding to Tseng, the sunglasses-wearing Turk took his leave. Tseng turned to them, saying politely, "If you would follow me?"

They really didn't have a choice. Tseng walked them down the hallway silently. They debated, of course, attacking him. Even a Turk didn't stand a chance against all three of them. But he _was_ a Turk, and he would manage to get at least one shot off. And at this range, that shot would kill. They didn't want to risk it, not when there was still the chance that they could all make it out alive. Tseng opened a door at the end of the hall stepping through into the grand room that was the President's office.

President Shinra was sitting in his large, plush chair, grinning smugly.

"So, we're finally captured the infamous AVALANCHE!" he laughed. "I have to say, I was expecting better, even from such lowly vermin as you."

Barrett, without moving, for he knew that Tseng would not hesitate to shoot any of them, yelled, "You fucking Shinra are the vermin! Sucking the life out of the Planet with your goddamn Mako reactors! And that makes you King VERMIN! So just shut the hell up!"

But President Shinra just laughed. "No one cares about the opinions of a terrorist!" He held up a sheet of paper from his desk. "Do you know what this is? It's the order for your execution!"

"What!?!" Cloud cried. "You can't do that!" Tifa gripped his hand tightly, eyes huge. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Oh, but I can! The people will be so pleased to hear that the terrorist group has been caught. As long as someone is punished, the people will be happy." He waved a hand at Tseng. "Take them to the cells."

Rude and Elena had come in while no one was looking and had taken up positions behind them. Without much choice, they were marched back to the elevator at gunpoint, to be taken to the cells to await execution in the morning.

**Part 2: Nightmare Returns**

One in the morning. One in the fucking morning. Reno could not believe they had been woken up this late (or early, depending how you viewed it) to chase down someone. He and Rude had been asleep, like sane people are at one a.m., when they had received a call from Tseng informing them of an intruder in the building. Rude was up and dressed and out the door in less than sixty seconds. Reno, being Reno, had lagged behind. Now they were all patrolling different hallways, on the lookout for this so-called 'intruder'.

And where the hell had everyone been earlier? Tseng had called up Rude for something important, but Reno had spent the afternoon lounging around the apartment he and the bald man shared. He almost felt left out. He had tried asking Elena later, but she had refused to say anything. What the hell! He was a Turk, damn it, he had the right to know about missions the other Turks had had!

Looking absently around the remote hallway, he spotted someone sprawled in the floor. Noting the uniform, he chuckled. Probably a SOLDIER too drunk to get back to his room. Reno was going to pay it no mind, when something occurred to him. _The SOLDIER barracks were in the other building…_

He raced to the prone man, rolling him over and shaking him. "Hey, hey wake up! What happened?" The man didn't respond. Reno blanched. This was one of the guards assigned to this floor. He started to make a comment about inefficient SOLDIERs, when he noticed something wet on his hands. It was blood. The guard had been practically gutted with a blade, and a pool of blood filled the hallway. He was dead.

Reno stood up, instinctively reaching for his gun as he recoiled from the dead man. Okay, maybe there _was_ an intruder after all. An intruder with deadly skill with a sword. This guard obviously hadn't even had time to cry out. Reno turned, cursing that it was too dark to really see, and crashed into something solid.

He stared up, biting back a scream as he stared into jade eyes, burning in the darkness like green hellfire. They were all he could make out of the person's features, other than the dull glint of a blade at his side. The eyes regarded Reno for a moment, before the person turned and went in the opposite direction.

Reno didn't even try to go after. He just sank to the floor against the wall, wondering why the hell he was still alive. He sent up a silent prayer to Zack for being his friend, for it had probably just saved his life. Reno pulled out his cell phone, calling Tseng. In a shaky voice, he managed, "Tseng? We have a problem."

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Cloud awoke with a start, an intense feeling of familiarity coursing through him. He sat up on the rough cot of the cell, rubbing his eyes blearily. What a bizarre dream he'd had. He dreamed that Sephiroth was huge, stabbing the tiny Planet with the Masamune blade. Then the silver-haired man had looked right at him and said, "Come, Cloud. Wake up so you can get out."

He pondered this for a long moment before blankly wondering why he was in a cell. Then it occurred to him: He and his friends were waiting to be executed! He bit back the urge to scream in frustration and sighed, looking around. Sticky red footprints tracked from the door, to his bedside, then back out into the hallway. Blank grey walls, blank grey ceiling, half-open broken door… Wait a second…

Cloud got up, walking towards the broken door and peering out into the hallway. He recoiled sharply as a metallic scent hit his nose and red assaulted his vision. _The hall was covered in blood._ He noticed that the other cells were open as well, and he hurried to check on his friends.

"Tifa? Tifa!" he hurried to the cot, shaking his friend awake. She sat up, eyes hazed from sleep, and mumbled half-coherently, "Cloud? What the…?"

He pointed to the door, where a lot of blood was visible, and she woke up instantly. "Did you do that?"

"No. Someone else. The same someone also left all the cells open." Cloud explained. Barrett appeared at the cell door, looking none too pleased.

"What the fuck happened here?" he demanded.

"Other than the blood and dead guards?" Cloud asked.

Barrett pointed towards the wall, just out of Cloud's vision. He got up and walked to the door, seeing what he had missed originally. It was a message, written on the wall, written in blood.

SAVE HER.

Cloud stared at it in shock. "Someone did this… for us? So that we could save Aerith?" Who would massacre what looked like an entire platoon of Shinra guards… for them? Never mind who would, who _could_? Who had the ability to come and do such a thing?

"Who cares?" Tifa asked. "We should take advantage of this and go get Aerith."

"Yeah, who cares if a bunch of useless fucking Shinra people die?" Barrett agreed. Cloud still felt slightly sickened by the blood and gore, but somehow managed to keep the contents of his stomach in check. He nodded without speaking, afraid to open his mouth at that point, and began picking his way down the hallway, trying desperately to avoid the blood and mangled bodies. They reached the far door, back to the elevator room, and found it unlocked as well.

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Reno had met up with Rude as they hurried towards the sixty-ninth floor. Tseng was on his way as well. It wasn't long before they all converged in the hallway, panting.

"Did you find him?" Tseng demanded.

"No, but I think I know who it was." Reno said, breathing deeply. "It was-"

He was cut off by a shrill scream from down the hall. Tseng inhaled sharply. "Elena! I told her to guard the President!"

"Shit!" cursed Reno vehemently. All three raced to the aid of their youngest companion, throwing open the door of the President's office and stopping in shock. The scene that lay before them seemed out of a horror movie. Blood spattered the walls from where the SOLDIER guards had been practically cut to pieces. Elena lay against the far wall, blonde hair streaked red. And in the center of the room, slumped over his desk, lay President Shinra himself, impaled through the heart with a very familiar blade.

Tseng raced to Elena, kneeling down beside her and checking for injuries. She had a deep gash across her back, oozing blood, and Tseng pulled off her jacket, retying it around her midsection to try and slow the bleeding. "Reno, take her to the medical wing. Now!" He lifted Elena and pushed her into Reno's arms.

"Leader, what about…?" the redhead tried to protest as he cradled Elena against him. Tseng shook his head.

"That blade went through the heart. He's dead." His voice was regretful, but still urgent. "Elena can still be saved. Go!" As soon as he was certain Reno was on the way, he turned to Rude. "Who else was in the building?"

"Scarlett, Heidegger, and Palmer went home for the night. I didn't see Reeve leave. He must have fallen asleep in his office again. Hojo's in his lab." The sunglasses-wearing Turk stated. "And Rufus is in Junon."

Tseng's cell phone rang, and he opened it hurriedly. "What?"

"Leader?"

"Reno! What are you doing!?!"

"I'm on my way to the medical wing now! But I thought you'd like to know that there's a 'copter landing on the private pad on the roof."

Tseng looked at Rude. "It must be Rufus. Why the hell he would decide to come back at one-thirty in the morning is beyond me…" He spoke into the phone again. "Thank you, Reno. Hurry up, now!" He hung up the phone. "Rude, go check on Reeve. Get him out of here. I'll go deal with Rufus. Hojo can fend for himself."

Rude nodded, and the two Turks hurried off in opposite directions to fulfill their missions.

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The elevator broke down on the sixty-second floor, so AVALANCHE was in the process of climbing four double-flights of stairs to reach the lab on floor sixty-eight. It was a long trek, with all of them wary of meeting their violent, if mysterious, source of aid. They finally reached the door that lead to Hojo's private lab. Cloud pushed the door open hesitantly, walking slowly inside.

Obviously Hojo had never heard of the word 'clean'. Papers and binders full of hastily scribbled notes lay everywhere, books sat in piled on the desks, chairs, and floor. A tank stood in the corner, glowing blue and illuminating what lay inside it. Tifa followed Cloud in, horrified. "This is…"

"This is everything from the mansion…" Cloud whispered. "I remember… Obviously after I got away he abandoned Nibelheim as a lab…" He walked over to peer into the tank. Behind him, Tifa picked up a random notebook with a thick layer of dust on it.

"Look at this!" she said. She opened it to the first page. "It's some kind of research log. Listen! 'The experiments are going well. That fool Gast had no idea the power he'd found. But I intend to use it to the advantage of Shinra. The SOLDIERs have had hardly any adverse effects to the Jenova cells…'"

Cloud's eyes widened, as he stared at the twisted form of a woman in the tank. The tank's label read: JENOVA. His own eyes widened as he looked at its' eyes, one glowing a soft green that seemed very familiar, the other a piercing, blood-colored red. They seemed to get bigger and bigger, filling his vision, and he began to hear a voice somewhere in his own mind. _Come to me, serve me, let me control you, let me rule you…_ He fought against the coercing voice, but it only grew louder and louder until…

"Spiky! Quit staring at that shitty tank and let's go!" Barrett said loudly, slapping him on the back. Cloud stumbled, tearing his eyes away from the demon eyes of the thing, and the voices immediately ceased. He looked up at Barrett, nodding, and moved to the door of the next room. It was some kind of room for holding specimens, or something. A small, open cage stood against one wall, and a larger cage looked like it had been ripped to shreds. The second one was older, through, for the once-bright steel had rusted. A few fibers from clothing were caught on the sharp ends of the ripped bars; the person who had been held here had obviously favored red.

"Nothing here. Next room." Cloud said. There were voices up ahead, voices that he distinctly recognized. He opened the final door, and an astounding sight met his eyes.

Aerith stood against one wall of the room, a growling thing that looked like a lion-wolf hybrid standing in front of her, teeth bared at the mad scientist across the room. It had a thick red coat, and was covered in scars and tattoos. The tip of its' tail was a small flame. Hojo tried to step towards it, but the animal growled, and then did something that surprised all of them. It spoke.

"Get back!" Its' voice was soft, but filled with anger. Hojo hastily stepped back, obviously not wanting to anger the beast more. It looked back at Aerith, saying quickly, "Go to your friends."

Aerith looked up then, seeing Cloud and the others standing in the doorway, and a bright smile lit her face. She ran to them, throwing her arms around both Cloud and Tifa at the same time, tears of joy streaming down her face. "You came to get me!"

"Did you expect anything less?" Tifa asked. Aerith shook her head, words unable to describe how happy she was.

The red animal was backing towards them, never turning its' back to Hojo. "You would do well to get out of here. There is something in this building that thirsts for Shinra blood. The same something that released me, and them as well, apparently."

Hojo laughed. "I don't fear this mystery intruder!" he cackled. "Let him come! I'll show him how powerful my science really is!"

"I hope whatever or whoever it is guts you painfully." The animal finally turned to them, saying, "Come on, let's get out of here."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, but led the small group to follow it back out of the lab. It led them past the elevator they'd come up on, to a different elevator on the other side of the building. He glanced at Aerith. "Can we trust this… umm…?"

Aerith smiled. "Yes. He defended me from Hojo. I think it's safe to say he's on our side."

The beast turned to them. "You may call me Red XIII, or just Red. I will explain more after we get out of here." He reached up and pushed the elevator button with a paw. It dinged, and they got on. "Hopefully this one will hold out long enough to get us down."

For the most part, the elevator made a heroic effort. Really. It made it all the way to floor five before giving out on them. Cloud, by that time, was almost fond of the elevator that they had spent sixty-three floors worth of time in. He looked at it longingly for a moment before turning his attention to the stairs that stood between them and the first floor. "Anyone care how much I hate stairs?"

"Stuff it, Spiky." Barrett snapped. "Let's just get out of this goddamn building." The rough man stormed down the stairs, only to stop before barely making six steps. The elegant Wutainese features of Tseng blinked up at them out of the darkness, the blond young man at his side letting out a bark of laughter.

"These are the AVALANCHE my father was so worried about?" he chuckled. "How pathetic."

"Who the fuck are you?" Barrett demanded.

The man laughed again. "Me? I am Rufus Shinra, and with my father dead, I am president of the Shinra Electric Power Company." He smirked at them. "My father was a fool. He thought that money could win the people's loyalty. Well, I intend to rule through fear, and no one will be able to oppose me."

"The President's dead?" Tifa asked, a hand to her mouth. "How?"

"He was stabbed with some abysmally huge sword. My Turks are disposing of it now, if you care to look." Rufus waved a hand towards the railing. They hurried to look, seeing Reno and Rude struggling with the large sword. It had to have been over five feet long. Cloud swallowed around the lump in his throat, a sick feeling in his stomach.

"That sword…" he breathed. "That sword belongs to Sephiroth! He's the only one left who can wield it! Sephiroth is alive!" He gripped the railing tightly, his head reeling. His brother was alive. Alive! Unbelievable! He had assumed that Sephiroth had been killed by Shinra, or that something else had happened to him. He didn't want to believe…

"Cloud?" Tifa whispered. Aerith came up behind him, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Cloud. We know. We know." She rubbed his shoulders, carefully soothing away the shock. Cloud relaxed slowly, looking back at Rufus.

The young president glared at him. "As much as I'd love to do something about you, Tseng insists that we have to leave this building, because he doesn't know if our murdering visitor is still here." He brushed past AVALANCHE, Tseng following on his heels as they headed for the lower helicopter deck. Cloud watched them go, before motioning to the others and racing down the stairs.

Sephiroth had murdered the President. Half of Cloud wanted to believe it, and the other half wished he'd never heard the news. Suddenly he recalled the bloodied footprints in his cell. Sephiroth had been there, staring down at him, and yet had let him live. Did he still feel some sort of family ties towards him? Cloud didn't know. All that mattered now was to get everyone out of this building.

They hurried into the main parking deck, where Shinra kept its' vehicles. Tifa and Aerith immediately climbed into a sky blue pickup truck. Cloud felt an odd pang in his heart as he watched them, seeing Barrett and Red climbing into the back. He heard a voice from his memory, panicked and worried, yelling, "Sniper!"

Cloud forced it away, turning instead and beginning to smile. It was a motorcycle. A perfect, shiny, brand-new motorcycle. Motioning to the girls to start the truck, he went over and got on it, noting the keys hanging from the handlebars. Stupid Shinra and their confidence that no one could infiltrate their building. Cloud started it with a roar, and led the others out of the deck to freedom.

Outside, they sped down the blessedly clear and empty streets of the upper plate. It was all too soon that they stopped at the end of a shattered highway, looking down upon what remained of Sector 7.

Cloud got off the motorcycle and walked to the edge. The others came up behind him, and Tifa hesitantly whispered, "Cloud? What are you going to do now?"

"I have to find Sephiroth." he replied. "My brother betrayed me, and I have to find him. To either bring him back… or destroy him if I can't. He's a murderer and a betrayer, and I can't allow him to endanger anyone else."

"Cloud…" Aerith began, but then turned upon seeing the spot of black and white in the corner of her vision. "Cait!?!" The stuffed cat was scurrying towards them, yelling when it was close enough, "Aeri! Aeri! You're okay!"

To the members of AVALANCHE who had not yet seen the toy, namely Red, it was a bit of a surprise to see Aerith scoop it up and begin to talk to it. From Cait's hurried explanation, he'd overheard that they were trying to rescue her and followed.

Cloud ran a hand through his hair, staring absently into the distance. "We can't stay here. Midgar's not safe for us anymore."

"Where do we go?" Tifa asked.

"Anywhere. I'm going to find Sephiroth. You guys… You can do what you want. This is my fight."

"You dumbass." Barrett said. "Of course we're coming with you."

"Yeah!" Tifa said. "We won't let you face this alone, Cloud." Aerith nodded solemnly, and Cait waved a paw, showing that they were both in.

"Sephiroth?" Red said. "A name I have heard often. I will join you as well, if only to see if what I've heard is correct."

Cloud could only stand there and nod. He hadn't imagined any of them actually wanting to aid him in his quest. "All right…" _Friends_. Cloud suddenly realized that no matter what had happened in Nibelheim, no matter how long he'd been gone or what Shinra had done to him, they had never stopped caring about him. His friends still wanted to help him, defend him, stand beside him in this fight. Cloud suppressed the urge to hug them all, turning his eyes to the horizon. Cloud would try to bring him back, to make him see the light, but if that was impossible, Sephiroth would pay for everything he had done. Of that, Cloud was certain.

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Li: So, some blood, some gore, some Turks... What more do you need? I originally intended this to be in two parts, but part one was too short for it's own chapter, so... Sorry for the late update! Another chapter follows this, just because I love you all! Hugs!


	15. Distant Relations?

**Chapter Eleven: Distant Relations?**

Shortly after their escape from the Shinra building, the members of AVALANCHE had returned to their apartment in Sector 4, taking all of their personal belongings and papers. What they could not carry was burned, to keep Shinra from discovering anything about them. Marlene was visited, as well as Aerith's mother, to inform them of the decision the group had made. They were leaving the city.

Aerith's mother cried. She had disliked the idea of her daughter living alone in a church, and liked even less the idea of her wandering the world. It was only after Cloud swore to keep her safe, and Aerith secretly informed her that he was Zack's little brother, that she relented. She had liked the mischievous black-haired rogue, and had tried to be there for her daughter when they had learned of his fate. She also agreed to care for Barrett's daughter until they returned. Surprisingly, Marlene was the calmer of the two. The six-year-old sternly informed her father that if he didn't come back, or even if he didn't call in a while, she would be very mad at him. The others snickered under their breath as Barrett solemnly promised his daughter that he would come back. They bid farewell to Elmyra Gainsborough and Marlene, leaving Midgar far behind.

Much to Cloud's great regret, they left the motorcycle behind, along with the Shinra truck they had stolen. Heading out into the fields, they agreed to go north to Kalm first, to stock up on supplies. Which found them where they were now: Staring out across the Zolom Swamps.

"That's gross!" Tifa wailed, backing away from the gigantic stretch of mud and glop. The smell of rotting plants and god knows what else rose from the ground.

"Can't we just go across it?" Cloud asked, missing the look of disgust both Tifa and Aerith threw in his direction. Barrett growled out a laugh.

"Are you a dumbass? Not if you don't want to be eaten, idiot!"

"Huh?"

Red shook his head, saying quietly, "The swamp is so named because of the Midgar Zolom that lives there. It is an enormous snake, incredibly vicious, and would eat us all without a second thought. We are not strong enough to defeat it in a fight."

"You'd have to outrun it!" Cait Sith chimed in.

"Nothing's fast enough to outrun a fucking Zolom!" Barrett said loudly.

"Nothing except a chocobo!" Cait chirped.

"We don't own chocobos, shitfaced cat."

"But there's a chocobo farm to the east, isn't there?" Tifa asked. "Couldn't we go there and see about getting some?"

"That's a good idea." Cloud said.

"All right, fine." Barrett grumbled. "Lead on, Spiky."

"Wait, when did I become the leader?"

"Shut up and lead!"

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It took a few days of good traveling to reach the chocobo farm, but when the small cluster of buildings came into view, they were all grateful. Tifa and Aerith, along with Red and Cait, went to look at all the chocobos milling around in one of the pens. Cloud and Barrett went to find the owner, a wiry old man called Choco Bill.

"Excuse me?" Cloud called to the man, who was sitting on his front porch in an old rocking chair. The man looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"And what can I do for y'all?" he asked, standing and coming over to where they waited.

"We'd like to buy or borrow some chocobos. We're looking to cross Zolom Swamp." Cloud said.

Choco Bill laughed. "You want to go that bad? What, a young'un like you don't have a car, or at least a motorcycle, to take the main road with?"

Cloud twitched, thinking of the motorcycle they'd forced him to leave behind. They wanted to avoid the main roads, in case Shinra was looking for them. He forced himself to remain calm, saying instead, "We'd rather go by chocobo, if you don't mind."

"Fine, fine. How many you looking to rent?" Choco Bill asked, giving up on finding out anything about this odd crew.

"Probably four."

Choco Bill whistled. "That'll run you about 1,200 gil."

Cloud gaped at him, unconsciously gripping the pouch of gil in his pocket, all that AVALANCHE had. It totaled around 700 gil. What remained of Tifa's revenue from running the bar was locked in a bank account back in Midgar, run by Shinra, and they hadn't dared to go retrieve it. He heard Barrett curse colorfully beside him, and glanced at Choco Bill. "I… um… don't think we can afford that…"

"Well! Guess you're out of luck, then." Choco Bill shrugged, and turned to go back to his chair.

"Wait!" Cloud called. "Is there nothing we can do?"

"Well, I guess if you went out and caught four chocobos, I could lend them to you." Choco Bill said slowly. Cloud nodded fervently, and the wiry chocobo farmer smiled. "A'right. Go see m'grandson, Choco Billy. He'll get you set up."

Cloud sullenly turned, trudging back to where Aerith and Tifa were petting chocobos. "We have to catch our own chocobos."

"What?" Tifa asked. "You're kidding!"

"Nope." He motioned to the barn, where two teens were standing around, saying, "We have to go talk to some kid named Billy."

They walked to the barn, and the kids immediately came over to them. "Hi, I'm Choco Billy, and this is my sister, Chole. What can we do for you?"

"Your grandfather said we could ask you about catching chocobos." Cloud said drearily.

Billy laughed. "Don't you look enthusiastic! Well, catching chocobos is no easy feat! You'll need the proper equipment." He and Chole vanished into the barn for a minute or two, and returned with a bag full of stuff. Chole began pulling out each item in turn, explaining what they were for.

"These are greens. Chocobos love greens, so it's your best bet to get close to one. And, of course, when you're close enough, lasso'em!" She showed them the thick green plant, as well as rope. "That's the best we can do. Grandpa doesn't let us lend out the chocobo lure materia."

"Great." Cloud said.

"This'll be fun!" Aerith chirruped brightly. Tifa nodded in agreement. After all, how hard could it be to catch a few giant yellow birds?

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Two hours later…

"WARK!"

"Goddamnit!" Barrett roared. He dove at yet another frantically squawking chocobo, missing by a mile. "Damn you, bird!"

Tifa and Aerith were trying a gentler tactic. They let the chocobos come up and nibble on the greens, but to the same result. If any one of the birds caught sight of the rope, it squawked loudly in panic and raced away. All three sighed defeatedly. They had left Red and Cait back at the ranch, since Red scared the chocobos and Cait Sith wouldn't be much help anyway. Cloud was nowhere to be seen.

"This is just retarded!" Barrett said in disgust. "I bet those two bratty kids are hiding here somewhere, laughing their asses off at us."

"Where's Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"I hear chocobos." Aerith said. All three looked for the source of the sound, hoping for better luck this time. After all, twenty-eighth time's the charm, right? They pushed through a large clump of bushes and stopped in surprise.

Cloud sat on a tree stump in the middle of the decent-sized clearing, a scowl firmly etched into his features. At least ten chocobos milled around him, warking and occasionally pecking at his hair. It made for a very unusual picture.

"If I had a camera…" Tifa sighed wistfully. "I told him his hair looked like a chocobo…"

"Tell me they aren't worshipping his as a chocobo god or something." Aerith said, mirth lacing her voice.

"Why can't we just sneak up on them while they're occupied with Spiky there?" Barrett suggested. The girls nodded and began to creep forward. Cloud looked up, noticing his friends for the first time. If possible, his scowl deepened. Aerith raised a finger to her lips, indicating him to be quiet, and crept up behind one of the chocobos.

Within two minutes, they had caught four chocobos with no problems at all. Cloud was in a horrid mood, grumbling nonsense about how chocobos were the stupidest things to walk the Planet.

"Oh, but Cloud, be nice!" Tifa said, poking him in the shoulder. She had a huge grin on her face. "They might be your distant relations or something!" Cloud rolled his eyes, going to Billy and Chole.

"We got them. Can we go now?" he said shortly.

"Wow!" Billy yelped. "They're really hard to catch without the lure materia! How'd you do it?" Cloud scowled at him, and Billy relented. "Okay, never mind. So, you're all set, huh? Just bring them back by here on your way back from Kalm."

"Right." Cloud turned and walked away, leaving the two teens and the remaining members of AVALANCHE to stare after him.

"He seems unhappy." Chole stated.

"The chocobos mistook his hair for one of their own." Aerith giggled. "That's how we caught them so easily. Cloud distracted them. Not on purpose, mind you…"

Chole and Billy both laughed, and it was a good thing Cloud was out of earshot. He would have been furious. The remaining AVALANCHE members bid farewell to the children, hurrying to find Cloud and mount their chocobos, eager to be on their way to Kalm.

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Li: And a lighthearted chapter to set off the blood. Yes, my wolrd map is screwed. Oh well. I'm heading to New York with my high school band next weekend, so it might be a while before a new update. Enjoy these two chapters, and don't forget to review! Reviews make my world go round!


	16. Fragments of Memory

**Chapter Twelve: Fragments of Memory**

As they rode into Kalm town, the sun had all but disappeared behind thick clouds, and rain was beginning to fall steadily. They hurried straight to an inn, tying the chocobos in a stable and racing inside to escape getting wet.

Tifa went to the desk to see about rooms. They only needed two, which thankfully was within their price range. Then she came back to join them at a table. The inn was empty except for a weather-beaten man sitting in the corner drinking a soda. Tifa leaned on the table and looked at Cloud.

"Cloud? Can I ask you something?" she said quietly.

"Sure, Tifa. What?" he asked, seemingly confused by the tone in her voice.

Tifa swallowed hard. "Umm… Cloud, I need you to tell us exactly what happened to you, starting in Midgar, please."

He grew quiet, staring down at a knot on the table. "Tifa… I…"

"Please!" Aerith said. "It's important, Cloud, otherwise we wouldn't ask. You know that. Just trust us."

"All right…" Cloud whispered. He continued staring at the table, taking a deep breath. "I… I was at home, in Sector 4, you know, when it all started. Sephiroth had gone away and had been gone for a week by that time. And you know, I was worried, because he'd gone to Shinra."

"What for?" Tifa asked. Aerith remained silent, knowing but not wanting to say.

"I don't remember." Cloud said softly. "But that day, he came back, but he wasn't the Sephiroth I knew. Shinra had done something to him, to brainwash him. He brought SOLDIERs with him, and I fled. I didn't know what had happened to him, and I wanted to try and find out. I used the platforms to get up on top of the plate, and got out of the city. But the SOLDIERs caught up shortly afterwards. I got taken to the Nibelheim mansion, where Professor Hojo did all kinds of experiments to me. At one point, I was locked in a Mako tube for almost two years. I don't know the half of what he did to me. But after he put me back in a cell, it got unlocked somehow. A man in red helped me get out of the mansion, and I came back to Midgar. That's all." He laughed nervously. "All I really remember is that Sephiroth was my brother, and he betrayed me. He killed someone important to me as well, but I don't remember who. That's all…"

"You idiot!" Barrett said angrily. "How could you just forget-" But Aerith shushed him, saying, "No, it's fine. Thank you, Cloud."

"What about Nibelheim? When it burned, I mean. I don't actually know what happened to you." Tifa said thoughtfully. "My martial arts instructor, Zangan, got me out after my parents were trapped in our house, but what about you?"

Cloud blinked. "It's hard to explain." he said. "I… Remember when I saw you? You were running back to your house to find your parents?" Tifa nodded. "Well, my mother had been… She had been killed, by a falling beam from our roof. I ran to the only place that looked safe at the time. The mansion. It was the only building that wasn't on fire."

"You went in the mansion?" Tifa asked. "No wonder we couldn't find you! I wanted Zangan to go back and look for you, but we didn't see you anywhere…"

"Yeah…" Cloud said. He continued the tale, resting his elbows on the table. "I ran inside, into the foyer. There was something in there. Horrible screams. I was terrified, but someone was there… He held me, and covered my ears so I couldn't hear the screaming… He wore red. I think it was the same man who helped me get out this time." Cloud stared at a knot in the rough wood of the table, adding, "I owe him my life twice now, whoever he is."

A server walked up bearing dishes of ice cream, chocolate flavored, and set one in front of each AVALANCHE member. Even Red had a bowl, which he sniffed at curiously, having never seen ice cream before.

"We didn't order ice cream." Aerith said softly to the server, looking rather puzzled. The girl smiled.

"Complements of your friend over there." she said. They all turned to look, but the weather-beaten man was gone. Only his empty soda glass remained on the table. They looked back at the ice cream in surprise, and the girl said, "He asked me to give you this as well." It was a note, written in neat, elegant handwriting.

_Dear AVALANCHE,_

_Yes, I know who you are. Unlike many people outside of Midgar, I watch the news. I know about the Shinra building, and I know about Sephiroth. I would like to help you, if you will let me. The taboos are too great a burden to bear alone._

_Fondest wishes,  
__Legend_

"Legend? The hell? Who else but someone with a huge-ass ego names themselves that?" Barrett laughed. "This guy must be a complete dumbass if he thinks we're going to fall for this."

"No." Cloud said softly. "This doesn't feel like a trap." He set the note on the table, taking a bite of ice cream. "I think this man means it."

Following Cloud's example, the rest began to eat their bowls of ice cream. It was refreshing to be able to enjoy such a thing, because good ice cream was rare in the slums. All of it was made by hand, in small, home churns. And it was certainly never chocolate. When it was gone, they got up to look outside. The rain had ceased, apparently only a brief shower, and the night sky sparkled with stars. As they watched, bright flares arced into the sky, exploding into a million twinkling lights. They 'ooh-ed' and 'ahh-ed' over the spectacular fireworks, applauding enthusiastically as the colors lit the night. Somehow, in the midst of all the sorrow, they made the world seem just a little brighter.

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When they awoke the next morning and came down into the inn, the man that they had come to call 'Legend' was packing up a box filled with rockets.

"Was that you launching the fireworks?" Aerith asked. When he nodded, she gushed, "They were amazing!"

"I have an affinity for explosives." He turned to face them, brown hair hanging around his face in long bangs, bright hazel eyes watching them like beacons. He wore a plain, charcoal-colored trench coat over his clothes, and a matching hat with a wide brim. He removed the hat, setting it on the table, and said quietly, "Well?"

"You said you could help us?" Cloud asked.

"Yes." The man nodded slowly. "Come." He walked to the door and, somewhat hesitantly, AVALANCHE followed.

He led them up a hill behind the inn, to where they could see all of Kalm spread out before them like a beacon. He sat down on a rock, and waited until they did the same.

"Well…" he began. "I suppose I had better start with my name. I am Gabriel Vandel, the man once called Legend." He looked to each person's face in turn, wondering if any of them recognized the name. When he saw nothing but waiting on all of their faces, he continued. "I know what you have done. The break-in, the escape, Sephiroth… I know everything." Watching Cloud, he wondered briefly, _He hasn't seen them. I wonder why. Did he miss them in Midgar?_ "I pay attention to things like that."

"So you've been spying on us?" Tifa asked.

"Maybe, in a way." Gabriel responded. "The doings of Shinra concern me greatly. I don't want them to make mistakes as bad as those in the past."

"And what were these mistakes?" Red voiced quietly. Gabriel glanced at him, smiling.

"Sephiroth, obviously." he chuckled. "Professor Hojo, when he got his hands upon Sephiroth, he was able to brainwash him. He performed experiments as a continuation to what he did when Sephiroth was younger. He has been exposed to Mako and Jenova cells since birth."

"Jenova cells?" Aerith asked, her eyes widening almost imperceptibly.

Cloud could feel a migraine coming on, and he wasn't really sure why. As Gabriel opened his mouth to speak again, the pain spiked above his right eye sharply, and he grimaced. Gabriel glanced at him, concern in his eyes. "Are you all right, Cloud Strife?"

"No…" Cloud said. Gabriel blinked, before understanding came to him. Turning to the remainder of the group, he said, "Your friend looks slightly ill. You should take him back to the inn. I will speak more later." As Barrett and Tifa began to help Cloud down the hill, he reached out and caught Aerith's hand. "A moment of your time, please?"

Red glanced back at her. She waved at him, telling him without words that she would be okay, and he nodded and padded off after the others. Holding Cait Sith in her arms, Aerith sat opposite Gabriel. "What is it?" she asked, inviting Gabriel to explain.

"It's about the Jenova cells." Gabriel said softly. "Sephiroth has no idea what's being done to him. He's being manipulated, and he has been since birth. Jenova has powers no one could imagine. I watched people under her influence begin to destroy the world from the inside out, and I will not let it continue." Aerith started to say something, but he shushed her. "Let me finish, and then you may ask all you want." She nodded, and he hurried on. "You friend Cloud Strife has been infected with Jenova cells. They were injected into him during his incarceration in the Nibelheim Mansion. That is where the headache came from. Jenova does not wish him to know or remember his past. She does not want him to know who he is."

"And who is he?" Aerith murmured.

"I cannot say. But you, Aerith Gainsborough, last child of the Cetra, have the power to find out. You and Tifa Lockhart hold the keys to saving him." Gabriel was completely serious. Aerith thought for a moment, then asked the most obvious question.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who does not want the mistakes of the past repeated." Gabriel said softly. "I watched my world get ripped apart, and my friends be torn asunder by Shinra's meddling, and I will not allow it to happen again." He stood, sweeping her a half-bow, and smiled. "Go back to your friends now. They'll be worrying about you. I'll see you all again." He turned and proceeded down the opposite side of the hill, out of sight. Aerith watched for a second, and then, still holding Cait, hurried back down towards the inn.

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Reeve stared at his computer screen in awe. He had heard tales after he had joined Shinra of Gabriel Vandel, the Legendary Turk, known only by the code name Legend. He was good with explosives, or so the stories said. He had left Shinra behind a few years before Reeve arrived to work there, and Reeve had never actually gotten to meet him. It was quite intriguing why he would offer his help to the floundering AVALANCHE. Reeve pushed his wheeled chair to the opposite wall, where a computer logged into the Shinra database sat, and pulled up a search. He typed in 'taboos', and waited.

After scrolling through all the useless files of Shinra rules and regulations that came up, he noticed a small folder of files at the bottom. It was labeled, "Projects S and G. Keep out!" He tried to click on it, but was asked for a password.

He put in his executive password, but the folder denied him. Reeve sat back and gazed at the screen a moment. It must be highly important if even his password wouldn't open it. It must be keyed to the President's password. But then, how could a Turk, even a legendary one, know of it? Reeve was baffled. But if it aided AVALANCHE, and kept them alive, and helped them discover just what was wrong with Cloud, Reeve really didn't care what Gabriel did. He was no longer a Shinra employee, so they had no jurisdiction over his actions.

Reeve laughed out loud. Apparently there was little truth to the Turk saying of, 'The only way you leave the Turks is in a body bag.'

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Aerith hurried in to meet her companions, noting almost immediately that Cloud seemed better. Tifa and Barrett were debating whether or not Gabriel had done something to him. After all, he had started getting better almost immediately after they left Gabriel's presence. Barrett was all in favor of marching back up that hill to demand answers from the man, but stopped when he saw Aerith.

"Well? What did that weirdo say?" he asked loudly.

Aerith shook her head. "Wished us luck. Said he hoped that Cloud felt better." She blinked. "Told me he'd see us again some time."

"Damn mysterious assholes, thinking they're so high and mighty…" Barrett grumbled irritably. Aerith couldn't help smiling faintly, as Cloud muttered something about going to return the chocobos and hunting for information about Sephiroth. In hindsight, Aerith saw that she probably should have asked Gabriel for Sephiroth's whereabouts, but it was too late now. She did trust the man, despite knowing almost nothing about him. She figured that he had to have some form of connection, past or present, to Shinra. There was no other way he could know as much as he did.

They prepared to leave for the Chocobo Farm, hoping that Sephiroth's trail would become clearer as they pressed on.

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And here's to my other major OC, the wonderful Gabriel Vandel. The Legendary Turk is a real person, if you check Wikipedia you'll find him. I just changed his appearance, mainly. He's modeled after Gabriel Van Helsing, for all you movie fans out there. I promise you, he and Rydia have an important part to play, but his might not be evident for a long time.

Anywho, another chapter come and gone. Damn. This is like the longest story I've ever written ever! Thank you for the support, even if it is mostly silent. Jill, you can have a Sephiroth plushie! (tosses)

Til next time, y'all!  
Li


	17. Dark Half of the Moon

**Chapter Thirteen: Dark Half of the Moon**

It was a dark night over the city of Midgar. Inside the seventy-floor Shinra building, the only lights were on the top floor and floor sixty-eight. In the President's office, Rufus Shinra sat with Dark Nation, his pet, drinking wine and going over the new plans for several major projects in the future. Scarlet wanted to move the Mako Cannon, her Sister Ray as she called it, from Junon Harbor. She didn't quite mention where, but Rufus knew that it was not a project for the current time. Palmer wanted to restart the Space Program, using the old Shinra No. 26 rocket in Rocket Town. That could wait too. Reeve wanted programs initiated to help the people in the slums. Rufus stared at it for a long moment, before tossing it into the growing 'Worry about it later' pile. What was Reeve thinking? There was a homicidal maniac out there! They needed to worry about that!

Finally, he picked up the last two. Heidegger's request for extra funding for the Turks and SOLDIER, and Hojo's request for a working vacation. Rufus stamped an 'approved' on Heidegger's request, before staring at the other in puzzlement. Hojo NEVER took vacations. And now, for some reason, he had taken two within a month and a half. What on Gaia could he be doing?

He sighed, stamping it anyway, thinking that at least Hojo would be out of the building and not creeping out his employees. Setting down his wine glass with a sigh, he looked out the enormous window and wondered where his company would end up going in the future.

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On floor sixty-eight, Hojo sat in his lab and laughed. He scribbled a few illegible notes into one of his many notebooks, then picked up a clipboard and walked to the back. He checked the blood sample that the computer was scanning and chuckled even more.

"Mako… more than any normal person could take. Legends and fairy tales, if others like those fools Professor Gast and Reeve want to believe them… Science is fact! These are legends, nothing more." He looked back at the computer, adding, "But still… I'd like to be able to test it."

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AVALANCHE was camped out on the far side of the Zolom Swamp, curled up in two tents and many blankets. The chocobos were tied nearby, and everything for miles around was perfectly silent.

Cloud couldn't sleep. Something was off about this night. He crept out of the tent he was sharing with Barrett and stood to stretch his legs. Red XIII was curled up next to the embers of the fire from earlier, with Cait Sith sitting against him contentedly. Cloud snuck past them, deciding to walk about a bit and see if he couldn't make himself tired enough to fall asleep. There was a large dead tree a little ways in the distance, so he decided to walk there and back, and then go to bed.

As he walked, he allowed his mind to wander. It drifted to what it always did, recently: Sephiroth. Once again, he wondered about the 'why' of all of this. Why would Sephiroth do such a thing? He couldn't understand his brother's motives. He couldn't be working for Shinra, so what had happened to him? What if…?

A sharp pain struck his head, like the worst migraine one would ever experience, and he dropped to his knees. Shaking, he clutched at his hair, crying incoherently, "Jen… o… va… NO!" He fell to the ground, as the pain slowly subsided. He weakly pushed himself to his feet, thinking dully, _Fine. I just won't think about any of it anymore. I don't care._ He continued to resolutely trudge towards the tree, when a voice behind him called out, "Cloud!"

Cloud turned, seeing Tifa hurrying up behind him. He stopped and waited for her to catch up, seeing that she was worried about him. "I couldn't sleep." he explained quietly.

"I understand." Tifa said. "Needed some time to think?" Cloud nodded, and Tifa asked hesitantly, "Do you mind if I come too?"

"No…" Cloud resumed walking. The tree was only a little bit farther, growing right on the edge of the swamp itself. Tifa walked silently beside him, apparently doing some thinking on her own. Cloud didn't pry, leaving her to work through whatever kept her away from sleep this night. They reached the tree and sat down under it, gazing off into the distance at the horizon, where stars twinkled brightly with cheerfulness they did not feel.

Tifa had been worried for Cloud going off on his own. She had no idea what this 'thing' that had gotten hold of his memories was, but she had already lost him once. She would not lose him again to this thing.

As they sat, she wondered what Cloud could possibly be thinking about. He was becoming more closed-in as days past, and Tifa could not figure out why. Only Aerith seemed to still be able to get through to him sometimes, and that was just barely. She didn't want to lose Cloud. He was one of her closest friends. But there were just things happening that she didn't know what to do about. Tifa sighed, looking straight up into the branches of the tree, and screamed. "CLOUD!"

"What?!?" Cloud jumped to his feet, one hand on the hilt of his Buster Sword. Tifa pointed up into the tree, where the dead body of what looked like an enormous mutant snake was hanging, ten feet up.

"It's a Zolom…" Cloud breathed, lowering his hands back to his sides.

Tifa got up, coming to stand beside him. "What could do such a thing…?"

"Sephiroth…" Cloud said quietly. "He's been here." He turned back towards the camp. "Come on. We need to get some sleep, so we can hopefully reach Junon by tomorrow." Tifa followed him back wordlessly, once again questioning how the Sephiroth she had known could do such a thing. Also, Cloud didn't seem worried at all by the thought that Sephiroth could be in the area, which she did find a little strange. She shrugged, deciding to trust in Cloud for now. Despite everything, he did deserve it.

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The following morning in the Shinra building, Rufus was meeting with Tseng and Heidegger about the state of SOLDIER and the Turks.

"Funds would allow us to be better equipped to fight both the threat of Sephiroth and that of AVALANCHE." Heidegger was explaining. "And if some of the budget is transferred to Scarlet and the weapons development department, we'll be better armed as well. You said yourself, sir, that Sephiroth is far stronger than any SOLDIER working for us currently. He is on par with a Class One, and there are none of those left."

"Except for the Dark Force." Tseng put in quietly, but Rufus frowned.

"No. We cannot call on them." he said flatly.

"Sir, if I may ask, why not?" the young Turk commander dared. "Weren't they the Class Twos that could have been promoted? What problems could there be?"

"Corrupted." was Rufus's very short answer. "We never discovered what went wrong with them. They are stationed now with a very simple task, out in the middle of nowhere, where they cannot tarnish the name of this company."

"Sir…?"

"Drop the matter, Tseng. It is not your concern." Rufus's voice carried a finality that Tseng did not dare challenge. The president looked back at Heidegger, stating, "I'll up the funds to SOLDIER, the Turks, and the weapons programs. Let's see Sephiroth deal with an entire well-trained, well-armed military! Dismissed." He waved Tseng and Heidegger from his office.

As the two employees walked back down the hall, Tseng chanced to ask Heidegger, "What does Rufus find so disturbing about the Dark Force?"

"Have you ever seen them?" Heidegger asked. Tseng shook his head no. "They're strange. Normal enough looking, but every single one has eyes that glow blood-red. Bright, bright blood-red. They have this feel about them, that none of the other SOLDIERs ever had. Hojo said it was probably a problem with one of the Mako boosts they were given, but…"

Tseng heard what he didn't say, that Hojo was the last person to trust for information. He raised an elegant eyebrow. "What kind of assignment do you give to SOLDIERs like that?"

"Guard duty." Heidegger said offhandedly. "They're stationed in some hick town in the middle of the Western Continent. All they have to do is keep some guy from leaving. That's all. Boring. Now, excuse me, Tseng. I have to check up on the commanders."

Tseng was left to stare after him wondering what kind of person could require an entire troop of SOLDIERs to keep them in one little town. He was preparing to head to the break room and possibly talk with Rude, but a young SOLDIER raced down the hallway and stopped before him, panting.

"I need to talk to the president!" he managed to gasp out.

Tseng looked him over. "Are you one of the SOLDIERs who went on that mission to Bone Village?"

"Yes, sir. We just returned back. I have something important to tell the president!"

Tseng sighed imperceptibly. "Fine. Come with me." He strode back to Rufus's office, knocking once before striding in with the SOLDIER behind him. Rufus shot him a questioning glance, and Tseng said quietly, "This SOLDIER says he has information you would be interested in."

"Really?" Rufus looked mildly amused. "Do tell, then."

"Sir!" the SOLDIER said, attempting a salute. "We were on our way back from the mission to Bone Village, and stopped in Kalm Town to replenish a few supplies, mainly fuel…"

"Yes?" Rufus pressed. He was not well known for his patience.

"Well, I was walking around waiting for my comrades, and I saw the Legendary Turk!"

There was dead silence in the office. "What?" Rufus said finally.

"The Legendary Turk. Hasn't there been a reward for his capture or whatever for, like, forever?" The SOLDIER seemed puzzled. "I heard he was a traitor."

"Yes…" Rufus mused. "Intriguing… So our Legend is in Kalm, hmmm? Thank you, soldier. Dismissed. I'll see you are rewarded." The young SOLDIER ran from the room, and Rufus turned to Tseng. "Take your Turks and some of the SOLDIERs and organize a hunt for him. I want him brought back alive, if possible."

"Sir, what did this Turk do?" Tseng asked.

"Deserted this company." Rufus said. "He knows far too much about the doings around here. He had, and probably still has, his nose in far too many of our affairs. You do not just quit Shinra when you know that much."

Tseng nodded curtly and left the room, unwilling to argue anymore. Rufus's eyes glinted.

"Oh, yes, Gabriel… You can't run forever… Not when the world practically belongs to Shinra… There's nowhere left to go!" The last loose end from his father's days as president. Rufus could only wonder how Gabriel Vandel had evaded them for so long. He was no more than any other Turk… yet somehow… Something about him was different, the same thing that gave him the air to match his name. Legend…

Rufus growled as he grabbed a cup of coffee off the corner of his desk. It had begun to cool, but it was still coffee. He took a long drink before staring back at the stack of finished reports. He sighed, pushing away from the desk. He really needed a nap. Maybe by the time he woke up, his SOLDIERs would have captured Gabriel Vandel.

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About two hours later, AVALANCHE was making their way across the vast, grassy fields towards Junon, when the spotted another figure making their way in almost the same direction. The figure seemed sidetracked, walking to a motorcycle parked nearby. It was definitely a girl, for they could hear her yelling, "How dare Rufus send us out here for his own personal little revenge mission! Just because he's so eager to catch this guy doesn't mean…!" At this point she turned, and, seeing AVALANCHE, hollered, "You!"

"Elena…" Tifa groaned.

"Isn't she a Turk?" Aerith asked.

"Yes, and an annoying, overly excited one too." Tifa let out a long-suffering sigh, as Elena called, "What do you think you are doing here?"

"We're traveling, got a problem with it?" Cloud shot back. "What are you doing?" His voice was sharp, biting. She might be a girl, but she was with Shinra, and that made her the enemy.

"Stupid Rufus wanted us to find someone. I'd rather be tracking Sephiroth… He's heading for Junon, last I heard…" Elena scowled to herself. Cloud was about to ask if she had seen the silver-haired swordsman, but the arrival of a small, one-man helicopter silenced him. Tseng got out, looking from Elena to AVALANCHE.

"Leader!" Elena cried. "What brings you here?"

Tseng looked bemused. "Keeping you from spilling any more secrets." He glanced up. "Hello, Aerith."

"Tseng." Aerith responded cautiously.

"Still not up for coming back peacefully, I presume?" he queried playfully. Seeing the steely glare Aerith focused on him, he stepped back. "Okay, okay. Elena." She snapped to attention. "Come. No need for you to be telling any more classified information today."

"Fine." Elena sulked, going to the motorcycle and getting one. She followed under the helicopter as it took off, both heading back in the direction of Midgar.

"That was strange…" Cloud muttered.

"What the fuck is that Turk's problem?!?" Barrett demanded, obviously referring to Tseng. "Is he going to decide sometime this damn century whether he wants to fight us or not?"

"Tseng is… was… a close friend." Aerith murmured. "He has always told me that he would not allow anything to harm me. Even in the Shinra building, he promised to keep me safe from Hojo."

"Tseng seems complicated." Tifa said. Then she remarked, offhand, "We haven't seen Reno in a while, have we? I wonder how he's faring, with no bar to waste himself away in…"

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Said flame-headed Turk was seated on a motorcycle somewhere outside of Kalm, talking on his cell phone.

"Yeah, Rufus has us looking for some guy who was supposedly a legend in the Turks, but then quit. Obsessive jerk." He listened for a moment. "How long…? Let me see…" He did some quick calculations in his head. "About fifteen years ago. Why?" He listened quietly, becoming instantly serious. "Oh. But this guy was privy to major top secret stuff. I'm not."

"Sorta, yeah." The voice on the other end of the phone sounded annoyed. "I told you, you have to wait. Don't do something stupid and get yourself hunted like this guy. I won't help you if you do that."

Reno chuckled. "I'm not that stupid, cousin. I'll watch my back. Talk to you later, Rydia." He closed the phone with a click, and sped off towards Midgar.

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And the mystery of the mysterious phone call has been solved! Reno and Rydia are setting up a plot point for me, as well as serving to make my chapters longer. And Rufus really doesn't like Gabriel, simply because Gabriel is one of those people that he just cannot control, and never has been able to. Poor him… He has a control obsession. Hehe.

So, we move on to Junon, and hopefully the reappearance of everyone's favorite mass-murdering not-General! See you all next chapter, and sorry for the late update. It wouldn't let me upload my documents!

I have a serious question for you all. I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to do a CloudxTifa pairing or not. Personally, I like a bi Cloud over any other, but everyone I'd pair him with in that situation either already has a pairing or is related to him in some way. So, does Cloud get Tifa, or does he remain pairingless? I have another pairing for Tifa in reserve, but Cloud will get no love at all.

Please, tell me what you think! Because at the moment, it could go either way.

Hugs!

Li


	18. Bonus Chapter: Burn it Down

_Oh, Mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law…  
__Hangman's comin' down from the gallows and I don't have very long.  
__The jig is up, the news is out,  
__They finally found me.  
__The renegade who had it made  
__Retrieved for a bounty…_

_Renegade – Styx_

**Bonus Chapter – Burn it Down**

Gabriel looked around his sparse house, which was a few minutes walk from Kalm, wondering if he had done the right thing. It had been a few days since he had seen Cloud Strife and his friends, and almost a week and a half since he had seen Kyle. Kyle… Gabriel grinned to himself. The nickname had come by itself, seeming right and appropriate with their secret. It helped, if anyone did hear him talking to himself. That was something he did more often than he would have liked, but at least no one would know what he was talking about. He would protect them, for they had done nothing wrong.

He threw himself onto his worn couch, staring up at the ceiling before reaching for his paperback book. But it was impossible to concentrate. He tossed the book across the room, hitting the plush chair perfectly. His thoughts kept straying to his days with Shinra, and everything that had occurred there.

"Eighteen years ago…" Gabriel muttered to himself. "Eighteen years since the beginning of the end. Well, no. The beginning of the end was Project G, but eighteen years ago was when my end began." He pulled out a photo album from a side table drawer, opening it to one certain page. It practically fell open on its' own, since he had looked at this picture so often. He and three of his friends. He had left Shinra, but had remained in contact with several of the people there.

"Forty years is a long time for meeting and knowing people, but these three, I'll never forget." Gabriel murmured. He looked down at the picture. One man with black hair, brushed back away from his face, one man dressed in red with the color even seeping into his shoulder-length sandy-blond hair, and one younger than the other two, with moon-pale hair past his waist. He sighed, thinking of how Shinra had taken them all away, before thinking farther back. His friends had begun to fade ten years ago, but his own doom was sealed almost eighteen years ago. He could still see the hurt, terrified eyes staring at him through the dark and smoke. He had been twenty-two years old…

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_Fire burning high into the night as the town of Kalm went up in flames. Gabriel stared as he watched the explosives he had set do their work. None of the other Turks were this good. This was why he was Legend. The SOLDIER platoon under the young general Xavier Domini was supposed to be getting the civilians to safety, so the insurgents in the town could be left to burn._

_Gabriel's eyes scanned the hilltops, eyes coming to rest on the little group of SOLDIERs. There was no one else with them. His eyes widened, and he sprinted over to find Xavier._

_"What are you doing!?!" he almost shrieked. Xavier's eyes were wide._

_"I… I… Heidegger told us that we were to wait until the flames subsided!" he stammered._

_Gabriel paled. "Master Veld told me that you were to get the families and civilians out before the town burned!" He turned, leaving the group to run into the town._

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Oh, Meteor and Holy. Gabriel slammed the photo album shut, putting it back in the drawer. So many people died that day before the SOLDIERs came to help him. They got about half the town out, but so many others perished. The one image that would haunt him forever was of a girl with teal eyes, about nine years old, just staring at him through the smoke.He had begged her to come with him, but she refused. He had to leave her, or die himself. But she had not died. How surprised he had been to see her come back years later as the new leader of the original AVALANCHE! Her eyes had been just the same as he remembered, full of hurt and sadness. She had stood before him, as he whispered, "I know you…", and called out for all to hear, "I am Elfe! I lead AVALANCHE! And the Shinra Mountain is going DOWN!" She used that analogy a lot, the one of Shinra being a mountain, and them being the AVALANCHE to bring it down.

"If Genesis could have just held on…" Gabriel murmured. "He led Angeal astray as well, and now Sephiroth has fallen too… Who will be next? Me?" He looked up, his ears catching a soft sound, like the footprints of people attempting to be quiet. He got up, cautiously flipping a switch on the wall and pocketing a small remote. Only for the worst-case, but when you were branded a traitor, every case could be the worst-case. He heard a brief knock on his door, and walked over slowly. He cracked the door just a little and peered out.

A small cluster of SOLDIERs stood around his door, guns at the ready. A Second-Class stood before him, pistol in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. "Gabriel Vandel, you are wanted for crimes of treason and desertion of duty. Surrender, and we will not be forced to use violence."

Gabriel internally chuckled. All of the First-Class were gone. There had been very few in the first place, and now all were dead or just vanished. A Second-Class could not hope to compete with the Legendary Turk. He slammed the door, throwing the lock into place a second before the SOLDIERs lunged at it. He raced back through his house, stopping to grab only a few possessions, including his photo album. As he ran, he saw SOLDIERs moving to surround the house. He dove into the secret tunnel he had built to lead down the hills back to Kalm, pulling the remote from his pocket as he went. As soon as he was far enough away, he pressed the single red button.

The roar of the explosion tore through the tunnel, assaulting his ears with the shockwave. He fell, feeling the ground quaking with the tremors of the explosion. Were they really so stupid that they would think that a former Turk with a thing for pyrotechnics wouldn't rig traps in his house as a precaution? He stood and hurried along, coming out just outside of Kalm. He took his chocobo from the stable nearby and rode from the town, hurrying to another location he had set up for just such an occasion. Shinra was bound to have found him eventually. He had felt it best to be prepared. Fleeing south, he would go to a secret dock he knew about and take a boat to Costa del Sol. Gongaga was calling him home, to yet another hidden hideout. He couldn't go home to Junon, he couldn't go to Nibelheim, and he couldn't hide in Wutai for almost all of Wutai would recognize him. He had been eighteen in the Wutai War. That was where he had earned the name Legend. And he remembered the adoring eyes of the little six-year-old boy who had followed him everywhere afterwards, swearing to become a First-Class SOLDIER. Angeal… He had succeeded in his goal, but for what? A legacy of betrayal and tragedy.

Gabriel tied his chocobo at the secret dock, leaving it in the care of the man who waited there. He turned to his boat, and was shocked to see someone standing between it and him.

"Tseng?" he questioned quietly, recognizing the young Wutainese man. Tseng looked at the ground, then up at Gabriel.

"Traitor to Shinra, how do you defend your actions?" he asked.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Traitor to Shinra? I told them I was leaving. I could not work there anymore. Not when it was spiraling down out of control."

Tseng looked from Gabriel's hazel eyes down to the pistol he held. "Master Veld always spoke highly of you, even after you left. I would regret having to hurt you."

"Then don't." Gabriel suggested. "Leave and pretend you never saw me. Does anyone else know of this dock?" Tseng shook his head. "Good. Leave, and pretend nothing happened."

"I…" Tseng hesitated, and then nodded. He asked quietly, "What could have been so bad it made you run?"

Gabriel grinned. "You might want to look into some of Shinra's doings. They were a lot more trusting of their employees back in my time, and there were many less secrets. I'm sure you aren't the only one to question things. Find the others, and go after the answers. One thing I've learned about Shinra, they tend to cover up their mistakes rather than actually get rid of them. You could find everything they've ever done that's ever gone wrong, if you look hard enough."

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Everything?" His mind jumped immediately to the Dark Force. What could Rufus be hiding...?

"Everything." Gabriel promised. "You pursue Cloud Strife and AVALANCHE, correct? Look up Nibelheim and find what was done to that boy and his family. You might feel differently about hunting him."

"How do you know so much?" Tseng asked.

"Long years with Shinra, and long years spying on Shinra. I make it a point to know what they do at any given time. I don't want the mistakes of the past to keep spiraling." Gabriel said. He waved Tseng away. "Go back and lead your Turks, go back and serve your President, but remember to always keep your eyes open. It's amazing how much is hidden in plain sight." He strode past Tseng and got into his boat, watching from the corner of his eye as Tseng walked back to his single-man helicopter. He smiled to himself. Maybe this new generation of Turks wasn't too bad after all.

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Okay, allow me to explain... For me, a bonus chapter is usually a single short chapter or scene, focusing around one person, that was too small to make a full-fledged chapter but too large to combine with another. This one happened to be about Gabriel. I'll probably have more, just for those random moments that don't seem to fit. Obviously, this is where Tseng was before he came to find Elena.

See, now? Gabriel has many ties to the past, so he'd obviously have a larger role to play with Before Crisis and Crisis Core. (smiley) And Kyle... Kyle is not an OC, I promise! The clues are there. Do you know who he's talking about?

Hugs to you all! Don't forget to review!

Li


	19. Junon

**Chapter Fourteen: Junon**

If Midgar were a blot of pollution on the surface of the Planet, covered up with a shiny piece of tinfoil to hide its' ugliness, then Junon was Midgar's smaller counterpart. The original fishing village was hidden away beneath the 'Upper City', Shinra's military headquarters. In this case, the piece of tinfoil was not quite as big. While Shinra could ignore the slums, hidden away and separate from the plate, in Junon only military personnel lived on the base. Everyone else lived in the city below. It was a dull, impoverished city. Due to the pollution from the underwater Mako reactor, the fish had begun to die out, cutting of the city's main supply of income. Now, it was just a step or two above the Midgar Slums.

It was this scene that greeted the small AVALANCHE team as they entered Junon for the first time. They looked around briefly, taking in all the sights, before Barrett finally commented, "Did we even leave Midgar? Hell, this looks about the same!"

"It's better than the slums." Cloud said quietly, but his heart wasn't in it. Was everywhere the same? Was there nowhere that Shinra hadn't tainted and twisted into a mockery of normal life? He sighed, saying, "Well, let's hunt for any clues of Sephiroth we can find."

They split up, heading in different directions to speak to the city's inhabitants. It was a slow day, so most of the citizens were willing to talk. They had no idea that the scruffy people they were speaking to were anything more than travelers. They didn't realize it was the famous, or infamous in some cases, AVALANCHE.

All together, they learned that Rufus Shinra was planning to set sail for Costa del Sol that evening on his ship. He was going for an extended vacation, apparently, to relieve the stress of taking over the company. Of course he would have a few stowaways. AVALANCHE didn't have the money to take a real ship to the resort city, so, as Cloud put it: "It's the least Shinra can do. They can repay us for locking us up." With much sarcasm included, of course. The only question that remained was how to get up to the military base to actually sneak onto the ship.

They were walking around Junon, looking for an inn or café where they could sit and work out their plans. As they walked, children raced around, playing in the alleys and ruined buildings. It reminded them of Midgar, where children ran wild, orphans and family-bound alike, lacking any other place to play. They discussed their plans in low voices, but a child still came running up to them and asked cheerily, "Do you wanna get to the base?"

Barrett looked ready to say something angry to the child, probably full of profanity, but Aerith shushed him and knelt.

"Yes, but we don't want the Shinra to find us." she explained in a gentle voice. "Do you know a way up that we could use?"

The little girl shook her head, and there was a general feeling of disappointment throughout AVALANCHE. But then she looked up, and proclaimed, "Our Princess does!"

Cloud blinked. "Princess?"

"Yeah! She leads all of us kids!" the girl said happily. "Do you want to meet her?"

"Yes, please." Aerith asked. The girl grabbed her hand.

"I'm Julie! Come on, I'll show you!"

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They were led through the twisting streets of Junon, past abandoned buildings, through alleys almost too small to fit through, and around corners you couldn't even see until you were right on top of them. Julie pulled on Aerith's hand, letting go to move an enormous piece of plywood out of the way of a door. Cloud blinked at it, a faint memory stirring. _Oy, Seph, don't scare us like that… It took forever to find a piece of plywood big enough for that doorway…_The words were accompanied by the beginnings of a familiar migraine, so Cloud abandoned the thought, focusing instead on where they were being led. Julie scrambled through the doorway, and motioned them all to follow.

"I'm back!" she cried, running into the large courtyard in the center of four abandoned buildings. Several children playing looked up at her, but it was a sixteen-year-old girl casually throwing knives at a target that stopped and came over to them.

"Julie!" she reprimanded. "Grown-ups? You're not supposed to bring them here!"

"Sorry!" Julie said. "They were talking about how they want to get up to the base, and I know you know a way up…"

"Really?" Now the girl looked interested. She turned, calling to the other kids, "Guys? I'm going in! There's some people I hafta talk to!"

The children looked up. "Yes, Princess!"

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"So, you wanna go to Shinra's military base? Why?" The girl had taken them inside one of the buildings, and they were currently sitting around a large, comfortably furnished sitting area. This building had once been an inn, a long time ago. She brushed back her dark, chin-length hair and stared at them with wide eyes. "Who would wanna go up there EVER?"

"We need passage to Costa del Sol, and we're going to sneak aboard Shinra's ship." Cloud explained. The girl gasped.

"You're going to sneak onto a Shinra ship? Wow!" she gushed. "That's so cool!" She held out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Yuffie. I lead the children of Junon, as of now."

"As of now?" Cloud queried, shaking her hand.

Yuffie nodded. "I got to this city myself only about six months ago. I'm the oldest here without parents, so they kinda adopted me as their leader! Isn't that cool?" There was a faint murmur of agreement from AVALANCHE, almost halfheartedly, and Yuffie grinned. "Stay here tonight, no Shinra or grown-ups at all come here. You can rest, and tomorrow we'll break into the base!"

Cloud couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm, accepting her offer gratefully. They all took rooms in the abandoned inn, rooms where children weren't already staying, and then the boys went to sleep. Tifa and Aerith remained, talking to Yuffie.

"So why are you here?" Aerith asked the girl. She seemed very young to be taking care of all these children.

"I was on a quest for materia, but I kinda decided to stay here for a while." Yuffie admitted. Aerith seemed confused.

"Materia?"

"Yes! Materia, so that I can…!" She caught herself, amending quickly, "So I can become a stronger ninja!" She sighed. "I wanna make my dad happy, and proud of me."

"That's a good goal." Aerith said. "I hope you succeed."

Yuffie seemed to be weighing a thought. She sat quietly for almost a full minute, before blurting, "Can I come with you all?"

"You don't even know where we're going!" Tifa exclaimed. She and Aerith were thinking the same thing. Even if this girl was sixteen, and a 'ninja', they could not involve a child in this. "And what about the children?"

"Oh, there are others who led before I came. I can find 'em and ask 'em to lead again. That simple!" Yuffie smiled. "No problem at all!"

"But…" Aerith tried to say, but Tifa held out a hand to stop her.

"It's all right. I like her spirit. If anything, she'll be able to 'become a stronger ninja' by coming along." Tifa glanced at Yuffie. "But this is on one condition. If, at any point, we ask you to leave, you must do as we ask. It's for your own safety." _If we find Sephiroth, and things go badly, we can't involve her…_

"Awright!" Yuffie cheered, and both girls couldn't help but giggle at the ninja/thief's antics. Both shared a look, imagining the expression on Cloud's face in the morning when he discovered that they'd picked up a new companion for their strange quest.

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Cloud had blinked tiredly at them, simply shaking his head in exasperation when they told him the news. He asked Yuffie quietly, "So, where is this secret way into the base?"

Yuffie grinned, leading them out of the ring of buildings and into the city. She made a beeline for the waterfront, where an abandoned well stood silently. "It's a bit damp, but it's an excellent passage!"

"We're supposed to climb down that?" Cait Sith demanded. "I'll get wet! I can't get wet!" Aerith shushed her toy, instead peering down into the well. It didn't seem very deep, but the stones were covered with moss and lingering damp. A layer of water could be seen at the bottom. Yuffie assured them that it wasn't very deep, but they looked less than thrilled. It was a slippery climb to the bottom, but they found that the water did indeed only rise to their knees. Footing was treacherous, as a wrong step would find them slipping and landing on their behinds. Yuffie led the way, a flashlight held in her grip, as the others followed. The tunnel went on for a long time, before it gradually began to angle up. The water got lower, till it merely splashed like puddles when they stepped in it. Yuffie stopped beside a ladder and pointed up.

"This comes up in a storeroom. We can filch some uniforms from there and go in disguise." She scurried upwards, thief-like quickness coming in handy. Once all were up, (although no one was really sure how Red made it) they sat down on some crates, attempting to dry the bottoms of their pants, as well as socks and shoes, before searching for uniforms that fit. It wasn't hard. There were uniforms of every shape and size, for all types of people. Tifa and Aerith coiled their hair and tucked it under their hats, trying to semi-disguise the fact that they were women. There were women employees, but the less attention the group received, the better. Aerith found a large duffel bag and arranged Cait Sith in it. There was nothing to be done about Red, he was too large and heavy to be stuffed in a duffel bag, but he didn't exactly look normal either. They decided to just go with it, and if anyone asked them a question, they'd bluff their way out.

They ventured out into the hallways of the base. Inside, it didn't seem too much different than the rest of Junon. It looked like no one ever really bothered to clean, and there was junk everywhere. Cloud stopped a man, who looked like he was one of the lowest ranks possible, and asked, "What happened? It looks like a bomb went off in here!"

"Rufus Shinra is leaving on a ship for Costa del Sol in twenty minutes and is demanding that everything be perfect! No one has had time for anything else! Especially not cleaning!" The man hurried on down the hall, and Cloud looked back at his friends. "Okay. Twenty minutes. How hard can this be?"

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Eighteen minutes later, they were sprinting down the hallway to the hangar where the airship was, since Cloud had gotten them lost and going the wrong direction not once, but TWICE. As they ran for the closing hatch, several soldiers tried to get in the way.

"Hey, where are you going?!? Do you have authorization?"

Yuffie flashed a card, or a piece of paper, or something, at them, and they immediately backed off, muttering things like "Go on," and "Sorry." They tore onto the ship, immediately heading for an out-of-the-way back room and sighing in relief.

"Yuffie, what did you show them?" Tifa asked, looking briefly at Aerith, who was taking out Cait Sith, before shifting her gaze back to the thief.

"I made fake authorization papers! They aren't right, but going that fast, nobody would stop to check." Yuffie said proudly. They all stared at her for a moment, then began to laugh. Yuffie was clever, they'd give her that.

"I'm just glad no one asked about Red." Cait Sith chimed. Even he sounded happy.

"They were all to busy catering to 'Prince Rufus's' every whim." Barrett growled. "Fucking stuck up little brat… Thinks he owns the world."

"He pretty much does." Cloud pointed out.

Barrett glared at him. "Shut up." He sank back against the crates he was sitting against, as everyone burst into laughter once again.

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Oh. My. GOD. I am sooooo sorry for the late update! I would whine and make excuses like SOLs (which are HELL on paper in the annoyance caategory) or colorguard tryouts, but I know y'all don't want to hear it. Suffice to say, I'm REALLY sorry.

Cloud is directionally challenged. Kinda like me. Anywho, my school computer goes away on May 30, so after that expect much slower updates for the duration of the summer. The library's two-hour computer time limit SUCKS.

I love you all! Once again, SORRY!  
Li


	20. Coast of the Sun

**Chapter Fifteen – The Coast of the Sun**

It was cramped in the hold of the Shinra ship, but AVALANCHE had certainly endured worse. Jail cells, tiny Midgar apartments… All were far less inviting than this stuffy cargo area. Their biggest fear was of someone coming in for supplies and discovering them. Hopefully, Rufus was keeping everyone so busy that no one would have time to even think of checking in the hold.

Tifa had nodded off against Red during the few hours of the crossing. Aerith was sitting in one corner, dozing. The others remained awake: Yuffie too hyper to sleep, Barrett not trusting himself to go to sleep, and Cloud simply not wanting to sleep. Cait Sith had powered down, and those remaining awake remained silent, each to their own thoughts.

Cloud was worried more than he would like to admit, even to himself. He was beginning to realize the depths of what was wrong with him. There was something blocking his memories, but he didn't know what or why. He couldn't fight against something whose nature he didn't understand. Then there was the question of Sephiroth. His big brother had killed many people, including the president of Shinra and someone important to Cloud whose identity he could not remember. He would have come to the conclusion that his brother was out of his mind, yet Sephiroth had stood over him in the Shinra building as he slept and had made a conscious decision to leave him alive. Cloud didn't even pretend to understand what Sephiroth might be thinking, but it bothered him that he couldn't at least tell if his brother was sane or not.

He glanced at Aerith, eyes closed, frowning slightly in her sleep. She had been bothered by something, the few days after they met Gabriel. She kept stealing glances and looking at him oddly, like she was puzzling out a problem. He looked up at the ceiling with a sigh, feeling the sharp jolt as the ship came into dock. He heard all of the personnel above begin to move about urgently. Rufus had wanted a parade, so all AVALANCHE had to do was wait until everyone was busy, and then slip off the ship. He stood, walking to Aerith and gently shaking her awake, before doing the same to Tifa.

"We're here."

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They waited a sufficient amount of time, to make sure no one would be around, and then cautiously made their way up to the deck. A dramatic parade was taking place on shore, celebrating the new president of Shinra's arrival in Costa del Sol. The entire resort town was in an uproar, providing the perfect cover. They managed to get into town and into an inn without being detected.

It was blessedly quiet in the inn, with most of the people who were there to enjoy a _quiet_ vacation. AVALANCHE sat down at a table in the corner to discuss where they were going to go next.

"We should go to North Corel." Tifa was saying. "They can give us some help."

"Or would it be better to go straight to the Gold Saucer?" Red asked. "Surely, with so many people, someone would know something."

Barrett scowled at the mention of both of these places, saying angrily, "Or we could just go to fucking Nibelheim! I'm sure we'd find plenty of answers there!" Cloud and Tifa stared at him in stunned shock, before Tifa finally realized what he meant.

"Oh, Barrett, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "I didn't think…" Barrett frowned darkly, and the topic was abandoned for the moment. They sat in silence, listening to the sounds of the parade outside. It seemed that even if Shinra wasn't very well-loved, the people of Costa del Sol wanted any chance they could to have a party.

They had dinner in the inn, having eaten a meager lunch of whatever they had while on the ship. Afterwards, when the parade had died down, they decided that if they were in a resort town, they may as well enjoy it. They went to the beach, relaxing as if they had all the time in the world.

After a while, Cloud decided he would go for a walk by himself. Both Tifa and Aerith offered to go with him, but he declined, saying that he needed time to think. They backed off, allowing the blond his space.

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The night was cool and clear. Water lapped at the shore, the waves gentle and soothing. Cloud sat down on the beach and stared out at the moon, an enormous silver orb hanging in the sky. It almost reminded him of something, this night and this moon. He heard faint music somewhere in his mind, singing softly, …_dust and gloom, there shall come the sun and moon…_

He blinked, wondering where that had come from. It was accompanied by the now-familiar nightmarish image of Sephiroth's jade eyes, and a glimpse of eyes glowing so violet that they hurt to look at. But the familiar migraine was also beginning to kick in, and Cloud wanted to fight. He struggled against the pain, trying to see what lay beyond those eyes: a face, a voice, any clue would be fine. But instead of the voice he sought, he heard a different voice, angry and vengeful, _**Fear me, hate me, fight me, STRONGER!**_

He yelled, as his vision went white and his left shoulder-blade burned. His friends heard and came running as something formed on the beach before them. The monster stood before them, a sickening shade of green, looking like nothing they had ever seen before. It let out a screech, and Cloud stood, helped by Barrett and a very worried Tifa.

"Jenova-BIRTH…" He wasn't sure where the name had come from; probably just another product of the vengeful voices in his head, but it didn't matter now. They readied themselves to fight as the thing advanced.

Cloud fitted one of the materia they had bought in Kalm into the pommel of his sword. He called upon the fire magic, sending the full might of Fira into the thing's face. Tifa stood back, quietly chanting the spell for Thundara, as Barrett raised his gun arm and unleashed a hail of bullets into it.

Before Tifa could finish the complicated incantation, the thing knocked her backwards with a tentacle, cutting off the spell and leaving a gash across the girl's stomach. Aerith hurried to her side, calling on Cure and focusing the magic. Tifa stood, thanking Aerith before running back to rejoin the fight. She came at it from the left, as Barrett continued to fire dead-on into it. Yuffie, who had been stunned by the size of the monster, hurled her shruiken, cutting off a tentacle as Red chewed another one off. He spat onto the ground afterwards, commenting, "That thing does not taste good at all."

Cloud charged in from the side, attacking furiously and powering up to break through his level one Limit. He invoked the Blade Beam, attacking Jenova-BIRTH with the pure slice of energy.

It roared furiously, but was nearly ripped in two by the force of the Limit Break. It crumpled to the ground, falling apart until all that remained was a single shriveled tentacle.

"What the hell was that thing?" Barrett demanded. Cloud took a deep breath before responding.

"Jenova-BIRTH, I think."

"But what the hell is a Jenova?"

"It's… I don't know." Cloud whispered. "But it feels important, somehow."

Aerith blinked in surprise to hear Cloud's words. She hadn't expected Jenova to allow Cloud to know she existed. Gabriel had said that she would stop at nothing to keep him from knowing who he was, whoever he was…

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They had gone back to the inn, shaken after the fight with the bizarre creature, and dispersed to their own rooms. Tifa and Yuffie had gone to sleep, but Aerith remained awake, sitting on her bed and looking out at the luminous city around them. It was so much prettier than Midgar or Junon, and yet was nearly as bad.

The Cetra closed her eyes, calling out quietly to the Planet, asking it what it could tell her about Jenova. It sent her wave after wave of ideas and images, showing her the Calamity and what it had done to her people of old. It came in a meteor from the sky, emerging onto the Planet. It was as a virus to the Cetra, and set about to destroy them and take the Planet for its' own. Eventually, a few brave Cetra had managed to seal it away, preserving the few of their people who were left. Aerith reeled from the magnitude of the visions, although it still did not explain how Shinra had come to possess Jenova cells. She sighed, curling up in bed underneath her blankets, wondering what more she could do. She couldn't fight what she didn't understand, and at the moment, she didn't understand what Cloud was or why Jenova was so desperate to keep him from discovering this secret. Only time would tell, but they might not have that much time to spare.

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I want to tell everybody right now: I am _SO SORRY_ that I haven't updated in so long. Specifically, Jill, if you still can find it in yourself to care, I apologize deeply for my lapse. That fight scene took forever, since I suck at fight scenes. Hehe...

So, Jenova-BIRTH and stuff... I guess they're off to the Gold Saucer next. Or North Corel. One or the other. On a completely random side note, I was looking up Crisis Core on Wikipedia, and Genesis' last name is Rhapsodos. How cool is that?!?

Luv, and a million more apologies,  
Li


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